Congressman Ralph Norman, pictured with AAHOA South Carolina Regional Director Fenil Desai, and his application to become an AAHOA Lifetime Member.
In total, AAHOA represents nearly 20,000 members, which includes countless stories and perspectives representing every facet of hospitality. And because many of those hotel owners are united by the cause of championing industry-friendly legislation, loud cheers erupted when U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman (R-SC 5th District) and U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC 2nd District) became AAHOA Lifetime Members at the South Carolina Regional Conference & Trade Show in August, making it a memorable evening for those in attendance.
Both congressmen have supported fair tax rates, the Paycheck Protection Program, and other small-business-relief programs, and Norman advocates for hoteliers and their employees on the House Committee on Financial Services. Their work goes beyond Capitol Hill and state legislatures, helping small business owners, independent hoteliers, and franchisees thrive.
There is no doubt that hospitality matters to South Carolinians when you look at hotel performance and economic data. AAHOA’s Oxford Economics study reports the following impressive findings from South Carolina:
- AAHOA Members own 67.4% of the hotels in the state
- AAHOA Members own 797 hotels in SC
- AAHOA Members represent 71,450 hotel rooms
- AAHOA Members generate $2.5 billion in total hotel sales annually
- AAHOA Members contribute $5.5 billion annually to state GDP
AAHOA Treasurer Miraj Patel pinned Congressman Joe Wilson with an AAHOA Lifetime Member lapel pin on stage at the South Carolina Regional Conference & Trade Show.
These contributions are a significant testament to the hard work of AAHOA Members, and building relationships with leaders, like Norman and Wilson, helps the association make positive changes for all hotel owners.
AAHOA Members work together to lift each other up in the good times and hard times, as we recently witnessed with the global pandemic. Hospitality thrives when hotel owners thrive, and local economies grow when small businesses grow. When the entrepreneurial spirit is alive, the American Dream is alive for current and future hoteliers.
As two of AAHOA’s newest Lifetime Members, Wilson and Norman underscore their commitment to supporting hotel owners today, tomorrow, and in the future. Their experience and journey add to the thousands of stories that make the AAHOA community special and membership a powerful force to be reckoned with for years to come.
