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MIRAJ PATEL OFFICIALLY became AAHOA's chairman as the association's 35th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Orlando ended on Friday. At 26, he is the youngest person to take on the leadership role. However, Patel also is a second-generation hotelier who began his career in hospitality at a young age, growing up in his family's first 30-room independent property. He served as an AAHOA committee member for several years and joined the AAHOA board of directors in 2019 after being elected as young professional director Western Division. "Serving as the youngest chair in the association's history further demonstrates AAHOA's commitment to fostering the growth and success of the next generation," Miraj said. "I'm always encouraging young professionals not to let age determine success. Many times, people may say you're too young, but that is absolutely not true. There are so many folks who are young but still do whatever it takes to find success. If you never try, you'll never know what you're capable of achieving."

AAHOA's "HYPE OWNERSHIP-Helping Young Professionals Evolve" conference held recently in New Orleans attracted around 200 members. The event focused on fostering the growth of new hospitality industry professionals, offering educational opportunities like panel discussions, roundtables and keynotes to equip emerging hotel owners with the tools for success, AAHOA said in a statement. "The HYPE Conference allowed us to hear first-hand from our young members about their ideas and concerns regarding the future of our industry," said Tanmay Patel, young professional director for AAHOA's Western Division. "It was enlightening to hear from so many young people about their hopes and dreams for taking the work started by their parents, in many cases, and how they hope to better position the industry for future success." "The feedback we received from attendees and the interaction we saw illustrates there is a great need for our industry to nurture our connection to future leaders," said Dylan Patel, Young Professional Director Eastern Division. "Their commitment to elevate the industry to new heights is evident."

AAHOA RECENTLY INTRODUCED "HYPE Ownership: Helping Young Professionals Evolve," an initiative focused on supporting the growth of emerging hoteliers within the association and the broader industry. HYPE Ownership offers educational opportunities, networking events, and an annual conference for young professionals and hotel industry experts, AAHOA said in a statement. The goal is to establish AAHOA as the primary resource and advocate for the next generation of industry leaders. "AAHOA is excited to launch HYPE Ownership, a visionary initiative spotlighting the rising stars of the hotel industry, and paving the way for a dynamic future led by young professionals," said AAHOA president and CEO Laura Lee Blake. "It is our commitment to the next generation of leaders of AAHOA as we seek to elevate their contributions to the industry."

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Tanzania is set to open its first baby elephant orphanage in Arusha to deal with young elephants orphaned following the deaths of their mothers due to the illegal ivory trade.

George Martin can be credited as one of the world's biggest names in the music industry who propelled four young men to stardom. Yet, he chose to remain away

IHG HOTELS & RESORTS hopes to draw more young college graduates to the hospitality field, particularly among historically underrepresented groups, through a new partnership with Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College in Atlanta. As part of the tie-up, IHG will provide resources to support students' professional development in the hospitality sector and create employment opportunities. The initiative is part of IHG's early-career recruitment program, according to IHG, which also is based in Atlanta. "Our partnerships with Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College underscore IHG's commitment to supporting the success of future leaders and increasing ethnically and racially diverse talent within our company," said Elie Maalouf, CEO of IHG Americas. "Our goal is to create meaningful engagements that open more doors of opportunity for underrepresented groups. I recently had the pleasure of meeting a few of our summer interns from both schools and it was inspiring to be among a new generation of up-and-coming talent that we hope will soon come back to IHG."

As a young man, Amir Ahmed was more interested in sports than in the career in medicine his family wanted for him. However, he parlayed that competitive spirit and focus on personal relationships into the skills he needed to succeed in business and achieve his current position as executive vice president for DISH TV, part of DISH Network Corp., and he shared his story in Asian Hospitality's Leadership Series. One of the responsibilities in his current role is to oversee DISH's hospitality business. His leadership is paving the way for new technology offered in hotels to attract guests and improve efficiency not only for the hotel but also for the guest during their hotel stay. The company's new OnStream platform, provides personalized service to guests while reducing hotels' labor needs. Through it all, he has remembered his heritage and drawn inspiration from it.

THE U.S. HOUSE of Representatives recently unveiled the 'No Hidden FEES Act of 2023' (H.R 6543), compelling the travel industry to enhance transparency regarding so-called "junk fees." This legislation is designed to improve pricing transparency for customers seeking short-term lodging, including hotels, motels, inns, and privately-owned vacation rentals. Meanwhile, the American Hotel & Lodging Association extended its support for the bill, which was introduced by Reps. Young Kim and Kathy Castor on Friday. "As Americans grapple with persistent high inflation, the last thing families need after budgeting for trips is to be hit with costly last-minute fees," Kim said. "The No Hidden FEES Act would rectify this issue, offering cost transparency for consumers so they know the upfront lodging expenses. I will continue the fight to make life more affordable for families in Southern California and throughout our nation."

Miraj Patel, president of Wayside Investment Group in Houston, has been named an advisory board member for the University of Houston Customer Experience Certificate Program. The program offers interactive training for hospitality workers to provide customer insights. Members of the advisory board offer their professional perspective to participants in the program. Patel is also the young professional director for AAHOA's Western Division. Wayside Investment Group recently opened a Red Roof PLUS+ in Galveston, Texas, just before the COVID-19 pandemic was announced. In June, Patel said business at the hotel was just beginning to recover some.

With the internet enabling dating a fully-fledged culture, online dating has become widely popular. Almost every young fellow understands how to meet girls online. They would be aware of a few techniques, online etiquette, and the best ways to pick up women. On the other hand, women would not mind such flirtatious conversation and an occasional pick up as well. The rising popularity of online dating The foremost reason for the popularity of online dating is it saves time. Earlier dating used to be a lengthy process where the man has to win the woman's heart, bring her flowers, buy presents, pull up to her place, book a place for a meetup, contact her for the next date, and think through the situation of your date. However, online dating has skipped several steps from the beginning. People have started to value words more than their actions. Online dating has united people from different parts of the globe. It does not need a comprehensive knowledge of the place to meet women online. You could reach anywhere across the world with a click of a mouse on Meetagirls, talk to a specific group, or develop a relationship with a woman whom you could never see otherwise. Online dating has brought a variety to the world. It has been amazing how easy you would unite people of different skin tones, races, complexions, religions, races, outlooks, and more. You would choose from a wide list of options or simply look for another available option.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH is a time to think about unity in general and hoteliers of all races acknowledged that this year. AAHOA observed the month, as did others in the industry through actions and testimonials. A way to engage the local community California hotelier and philanthropist Sunil "Sunny" Tolani in a recent article discussed the importance of the month to him. Tolani is CEO of the Prince Organization in Anaheim, California, and in an interview with New York Wire magazine, he discussed diversity and his company's participation in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in January. The event supports a sense of family among his employees, Tolani said. "Employees make time to volunteer and the MLK Day of Service is a great way we engage with our local community while honoring the legacy of Dr. King," Tolani said. "Whether we plan on cleaning up a public space, mentoring and providing internships to young people, mentoring our staff, inviting the local students to tour the back of house hotel operations, what they do makes a world of difference. Our entire organization felt a sense of pride at what we were able to achieve." Tolani said supporting minority rights also builds meaningful relationships within the communities in which they operate and "taps the passions of millions of guests."

OFFICIALS OF THE "She Has a Deal" annual hotel investment pitch contest announced the five teams selected to advance to the final round of SHaDPitch 2023. The competition allows early career women to compete for the prize of $50,000 of equity in SHaD's Prosperity Fund I, following the conclusion of a virtual, preliminary round of pitching, SHaD said in a statement. SHaD 2023 will be held at the new Marriott Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 27 to 28. According to the statement, the goal of SHaD is to increase the number of women owning and developing hotels. It provides participants with the ability to source, analyse, raise capital and close hotel real estate investment deals. During the preliminary judging round, eight teams comprising 15 participants pitched their hotel investment acquisition or development projects live on Zoom to a judging panel of hotel business executives, entrepreneurs, and investors. The judges evaluated and selected the following five teams: Sydney Young and Rachel Nicholson with SpartanStone, graduates of Michigan State University, pitching a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Lewisville, Texas. Chandler Williamson with Chanders Core Commitment, graduate of North Carolina Central University, pitching a Hilton Garden Inn in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. Isabella Suffredini, Veronica Lewis and Alexandra Neoman with CROWN, graduates of Cornell University, pitching a TownePlace Suites in Houston, Texas. Makenna Price with Hookipa Hospitality, graduate of Washington State University, pitching a Fairfield Inn & Suites in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Allison Busch and Hannah Takekawa with AH Hospitality, graduates of San Diego State University, pitching a Staybridge Suites in Austin, Texas "Every year, I grow more encouraged that we are making an impact," said Tracy Prigmore, founder of SHaD. "These are brilliant women who benefit from the education and programming that SHaD provides, and their hotel investment acumen has grown by leap

GEORGIA HOTELIER NAVIN Patel has contracted with Hospitality Ventures Management Group to manage his 111-room boutique Darwin Hotel in Atlanta. HVMG oversaw the complete rebranding and renovation of the hotel. The four-story Darwin is in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward and features eight individually themed suites and a lobby that displays a collection of local art. It is named after evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin and the themes include the Bar Room, featuring a full bar for entertaining; the Bunk Bed Room, with bunk beds and extra space for families and young adults; and the Audiophile Room, which includes a turntable and access to the hotel's vinyl music library. Navin Patel and his two sons, Shyam and Sagar, purchased the property in 2016. "We hope to showcase the best of what Atlanta has to offer," Navin Patel said. "This hotel is a love letter to our ever-changing city and pays homage to its history. Being in the heart of a large metropolitan city creates opportunities for artists, businesspeople, world travelers and people from all walks of life to all unite in our space."

AAHOA MEMBERS IN the U.S. will now have access to more workforce training opportunities and products from India under the new "Made in India" agreement made with that country. The agreement came about as a result of meetings between a delegation of AAHOA board members and Indian officials. Bharat Patel AAHOA chairman, Treasurer Kamalesh "KP" Patel and others met with the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel to discuss the partnership, AAHOA said in a statement. It includes: Partnering with India-based educational institutions to implement training programs and skill-development initiatives that will equip young individuals to pursue successful and global careers in hospitality. Actively promoting, prioritizing and providing support for the sourcing of "Made in India" products, including textiles, furniture, and plumbing fixtures, for U.S.-based hospitality businesses. "With strong family ties and a significant footprint in the United States encompassing more than 36,000 properties, the AAHOA community is uniquely positioned to showcase the best of India to the world," said Bharat, who mentioned the program in June when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. "Our new initiatives aim to not only fuel economic and workforce development and progress, but to create a stronger platform for the exchange of ideas and innovation between the world's leading democracies."

AAHOA AND THE American Hotel & Lodging Association welcomed the passage of the No Hidden FEES Act on June 11. The legislation aims to establish a uniform standard for transparent and mandatory fee displays across the lodging industry. The bill, introduced by Reps. Young Kim (R-California) and Kathy Castor (D-Florida), had unanimous approval from the House Energy & Commerce Committee in December and passed with bipartisan support on the House floor. AAHOA said that the legislation would empower its hotelier members and guests to make informed decisions and safeguard their financial interests.