The Independent Lodging Industry Association has officially launched with a goal to protect and advance the independent lodging owners and managers, as well as to provide a network of resources to support member efficiency, profitability, and professionalism. The organization also promotes consumer choice in the travel industry and supports the free-market against attempts to limit competition.
“Every year, laws are passed that impact the lodging industry. In many ways, independent lodging owners are more similar to other small businesses than they are to the chain hotels and corporate franchises that currently dominate the policy making process,” says ILIA executive director Bobbie Singh-Allen. “Certainly we do have some common ground, but for the most part independently owned hotels currently do not have a seat at the table. Fair franchising laws, burdensome tax regulations, transient occupancy taxes, and many other issues are decided in halls of the state capitols. ILIA will help level that playing field.”
ILHA currently has 1,000 members across the U.S.
