Summary:
- Promise Hotels’ Tina Patel testified that franchises support local business.
- She urged Congress to advance the American Franchise Act.
- The hearing brought together various franchise owners.
TINA PATEL, PROMISE Hotels’ co-principal and CFO, testified before Congress on how the franchise model enables small business owners to grow locally under national brands. Speaking for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, she emphasized local ownership, job growth and the need for clear, consistent rules for franchisees.
During a U.S. House Committee on Small Business hearing titled “Local Ownership, National Brands: How Franchising Is a Pathway to Entrepreneurship,” Patel said hotel franchising offers a path to entrepreneurship by allowing owners to build businesses with brand support, including marketing, standards, training and loyalty programs that drive demand.
She urged Congress to advance the American Franchise Act (H.R. 5267) to establish a permanent joint employer definition and provide certainty for franchisees planning hiring, financing and growth.
“Franchising works because it is a true partnership and small business owners stay in the driver’s seat,” Patel said. “Our team, guests and community benefit when franchisees have the clarity and stability to focus on running great hotels.”
Rosanna Maietta, AHLA president and CEO, thanked Patel for sharing her story with Congress and showing how hotel franchising helped her and her husband build a small business.
“Franchising is a pathway to the American Dream for many hoteliers,” Maietta said. “We encourage Congress to pass the bipartisan AFA, which will safeguard the hotel franchise model that supports nearly 3 million jobs nationwide and creates economic opportunity in communities across the country.”
Patel is a first-generation American and hotelier. Promise Hotels is a family-owned company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that owns and operates seven hotels with 713 rooms and more than 165 employees, AHLA said in a statement.
The hearing brought together franchise owners from across the small business economy, highlighting that local owners take risks, create jobs and build businesses in their communities, the statement said.
In November, Maietta testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade on hotels’ role in the U.S. economy and called for action on travel and tourism policies as the country prepares to host the World Cup, America 250 and the 2028 Olympic Games.
