Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

Blake tells the story of AAHOA

The association’s president and CEO sits for Asian Hospitality’s Leadership Series

Blake tells the story of AAHOA

From the courtroom to the halls of Congress, Laura Lee Blake has been representing AAHOA in some capacity for more than a decade now. For the past year she has served as the organization’s president and CEO, and recently she sat for Asian Hospitality’s Leadership Series to discuss the issues facing the association today.


Those issues include the promotion of franchise reform, programs to advance women in the hotel industry and her future plans in her role at AAHOA. Blake’s work for the association began well before her current appointment.

Making the decision

Blake, who is an attorney, worked with AAHOA from 2005 to 2014, then left to return to her law firm in Newport Beach, California. She had just started a trial on a big case when AAHOA offered her the president position.

“I thought, am I ready to leave this,” Blake said. “But then I sat back and I thought to be president and CEO of AAHOA, the largest hotel owners association in the world, with nearly 20,000, members owning 60 percent of all hotels across the U.S., I thought I cannot pass this up. This is an opportunity unlike any other. And so I jumped at the opportunity.”

The past year has been busy, Blake said.

“Within just a matter of months of me taking over this role as president and CEO we actually had five of the major franchisers pull out and that was all because of our support for New Jersey fair franchising legislation,” she said.

AH OCT LS Blake AAHOA New Jersey support Blake and AAHOA members attended hearings in the New Jersey State Assembly to support Assembly Bill 1958 that would make changes to the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act that parallel AAHOA’s 12 Points of Fair Franchising.

That legislation, Assembly Bill 1958 would make changes to the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act that parallel AAHOA’s 12 Points of Fair Franchising, which outline the association’s recommendations for maintaining a strong relationship between franchisee members and franchisers. Part of that process, and a point in the New Jersey law, is greater transparency from franchisers regarding aspects of their franchise agreements defining preferred vender programs, which has been a source of conflict between some AAHOA members and companies such as Choice Hotels International.

Mitigating circumstances

That conflict was at the center of a mitigation ruling in August that was a partial final award in a 2020 lawsuit ordering Choice to pay $760,008.75 in attorney’s fees and costs to claimant Highmark Lodging, led by Darshan Patel. The ruling found that Choice failed to negotiate discounts through its preferred vender program and instead used it as a source of revenue.

Blake said the ruling was unusual because in most cases rulings of this type are sealed. However, it may also lead to positive change.

“We are planning to meet again with Choice and determine a path forward,” Blake said. “I did hear that Choice is making some changes to address that. We don't have confirmation, full confirmation, but it looks like some changes might be happening and if there's a benefit for the hotel owners, that's what we care about, from AAHOA was to make sure that our members are benefited from all of this.”

Women’s ownership

Another development during Blake’s time as president is the rise of several new programs aimed at improving women’s role in the hospitality industry and promote women ownership of hotels. That includes AAHOA’s HerOwnership initiative.

“I see that through all of these various women's conferences, the more that women can come together and can raise awareness,” Blake said. “First, is just raising awareness, and coming together and talking about stories, sharing their stories, and what is happening, and how did they get to where they're at. The second aspect is inspiring each other. It's taking what we are going, what we've gone through, and really using it to inspire one another, to stay strong and stand firm.”

AH OCT LS Blake AAHOA Her Ownership Laura Lee Blake said AAHOA’s first HerOwnership conference, a program that helps women become hotel owners, was much larger than expected.

The first HerOwnership event was more successful than expected, Blake said.

“We thought maybe there would just be a small gathering of women, which was fine for an inaugural event,” Blake said. “We thought maybe 50 women, and here we had close to 300 or so and really from not only all over the country. We had a woman from Canada, a woman from India, so we are ready on our first one, our inaugural launch of HerOwnership. It was already an international conference.”

The next HerOwnership conference is planned for Nov. 2 to 3 in Dallas.

Telling the story of AAHOA

Blake also spelled out what she found to be the key to success as AAHOA’s president and CEO.

AH OCT LS Blake AAHOA Artesia town hall Blake said she plans to spend her time as AAHOA president and CEO to “tell our AAHOA story.”

“I would say that there's two things. One is, you really need to be a Jill of all trades,” Blake said. “You have to be able to really put any hat on and be prepared to serve in that role. But I think as far as maybe a skill, I think it would be judgment and wisdom that goes with it, that you can be wise in the decisions that you're making. Because there's so much that is coming at us, so many challenges. And at every step, you have to step back and say, ‘How can we best serve our members?’ and always to keep that at the front of our mind.”

Her plan for the future is to increase the connections between AAHOA members.

“One big goal that I have in the in the upcoming year, too, is to tell more of our AAHOA story. I think sometimes, we are so accustomed to it, that we forget that maybe the rest of the world doesn't know it,” Blake said. “Just amazing stories like that of our past chairman coming over from India with pennies in their pocket and coming together as a community. As a community, buying that first hotel, joining together buying other hotels. I mean, the stories are just absolutely a tribute to the American dream.”

More for you

U.S. Hotel Construction Hits 20-Quarter Low in June

CoStar: Hotel construction drops in June

Summary:

  • U.S. hotel rooms under construction fell year over year for the sixth straight month in June, hitting a 20-quarter low, CoStar reported.
  • About 138,922 rooms were under construction, down 11.9 percent from June 2024; the luxury segment had 6,443 rooms, up 4.1 percent year over year.
  • Lodging Econometrics recently said Dallas led all U.S. markets in hotel construction pipelines at the end of the first quarter, with 203 projects and 24,496 rooms.

THE NUMBER OF U.S. hotel rooms under construction declined year over year for the sixth straight month in June, reaching a 20-quarter low, according to CoStar. Additionally, more than half of all rooms under development are in the South, mostly outside the top 25 markets.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. travelers using mobile devices to book independent boutique hotel stays with personalized offers and smart tech in 2025

Study: Personalization boosts independent hotel bookings

Summary:

  • Around 95 percent of U.S. travelers are more likely to book independent hotels with personalized offers, according to TakeUp.
  • 59 percent plan more travel in 2025, with 78 percent favoring weekend getaways and 65 percent domestic trips.
  • Top booking deterrents are few reviews at 39 percent, unclear cleanliness or quality at 38 percent and inflexible cancellations at 29 percent.

PERSONALIZED OFFERS BASED on interests would make 95 percent of U.S. travelers more likely to book at an independent hotel, according to TakeUp, a revenue management platform for independent hotels. About 85 percent are open to technologies such as smart check-in, recommendations and AI-based pricing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chart showing decline in U.S. extended-stay hotel occupancy and RevPAR in May 2025

Report: May fifth month for drop in extended-stay occupancy

Summary:

  • Extended-stay occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth straight monthly decline; ADR and RevPAR also dropped for a second consecutive month.
  • May marked 44 straight months of supply growth for the segment at 4 percent or less, with annual growth below the 4.9 percent long-term average.
  • Extended-stay room revenues rose 0.5 percent, while total industry revenue grew 0.9 percent, led by segments with little extended-stay supply.

EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, exceeding the 0.7 percent drop reported for all hotels by STR/CoStar, according to The Highland Group. Extended-stay occupancy was 10.5 percentage points above the total hotel industry, at the lower end of the long-term average premium range.

Keep ReadingShow less
Auro Hotels Showcases India Culture at TCMU Exhibit

Auro unveils 'India Cultural Corner' for children

Summary:

  • Auro Hotels opened the India Cultural Corner, where children can check in and explore Indian culture at The Children's Museum of the Upstate.
  • Families can engage with community art, activities and storytelling about daily life in India.
  • The exhibit runs through May 2026, offering interactive learning on Indian culture.

AURO HOTELS RECENTLY opened the India Cultural Corner at The Children's Museum of the Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina, offering a look into Indian stories for American families. The exhibition, held at The Grand Geo Hotel and running through May 2026, includes a hotel desk where children can check in and explore Indian culture through interactive activities.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Firms Lose $2.4 Trillion by Skimping on Business Travel

Report: Business travel gaps cost U.S. firms $2.4T

Summary:

  • U.S. companies risk losing more than $2.4 trillion in sales due to underinvestment in business travel, says GBTA.
  • An 8.3 percent T&E increase could drive a 6 percent sales gain, despite post-COVID virtual meeting tools.
  • Current T&E spending is $294 billion—$24 billion short of the $319.1 billion needed for peak profitability.

U.S. COMPANIES ARE missing more than $2.4 trillion in potential sales due to underinvestment in business travel, according to a Global Business Travel Association report. Despite a post-pandemic rebound, travel and entertainment spending remains $66 billion below 2019 levels.

Keep ReadingShow less