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THE CITY OF Los Angeles is not doing enough to regulate short-term rental properties, according to AAHOA and a report from local advocacy group Better Neighbors LA. Both groups say the city should do more to enforce its existing 2019 ordinance on home sharing apps such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Los Angeles' ordinance requires short-term rentals to register and sets other regulations on home sharing apps. However, the Better Neighbors report found that the city's enforcement of the ordinance has been dropping since 2022, evidenced by a 54 percent decrease in warning letters, an 85 percent decrease in fines and a 25 percent increase in non-compliant listings. "Every year we put out an annual report that gives a snapshot of how enforcement is going in the city of Los Angeles, how many short-term rentals exist, and how that's changed from the prior year. This year, we've found that non-compliance is up," Allison Kriste, a representative of Better Neighbors Los Angeles, said in an interview with the Santa Monica Mirror newspaper. "We found a high rate of non-compliance across the boards in the city of Los Angeles. In addition, we've also found that enforcement activity is down. We're identifying more non-compliant listings, as compared to last year. The city is issuing fewer warning letters, they're issuing fewer fines. They're not doing a whole lot."

PROPOSED FEDERAL REGULATIONS defining a "joint-employer standard" would have a "chilling effect" on the hospitality industry and franchises in general, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The National Labor Relations Board's latest version of the standard could define two companies as joint employers if they both control certain elements of employees' terms and conditions. The period for comments on the proposed regulations ended Nov. 21 and the would rescind and replace the joint-employer rule that took effect on April 27, 2020. That previous rule established that "a business must possess and exercise substantial direct and immediate control over one or more essential terms and conditions of employment of another employer's employees" to be considered a joint employer. However, a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in July reversed that rule. Now, under the new rule, "two or more employers would be considered joint employers if they 'share or codetermine those matters governing employees' essential terms and conditions of employment,' such as wages, benefits and other compensation, work and scheduling, hiring and discharge, discipline, workplace health and safety, supervision, assignment, and work rules," according to NLRB.

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS are welcoming two laws, one proposed on a federal level and another passed by the state of Tennessee. The federal law is long-awaited clarification of the definition joint employers and the Tennessee law limits regulations by local governments in the state that would affect small businesses, including hotels. A clear definition Versions of the Save Local Business Act recently was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Sponsors of the bill say it will provide clarity on Department of Labor's proposed new joint employer rules that have undergone multiple changes lately, leading to legal confusion. "You can't focus on running a business if the federal government keeps changing the rules. The Save Local Business Act provides long-overdue clarity and consistency that will protect our nation's small businesses," said one of the bill's sponsors, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. "The Biden Administration's Labor Department has relied on complicated court rulings to handle joint employers instead of providing clear guidance to the business community. In a time of economic hardship, we should be doing all that we can to help our nation's small businesses, not let the heavy hand of government regulations run amok."

A newlywed bride made headlines this week. But not because of her stunning gown or the wedding event's. It was because she missed her honeymoon over a damaged passport costing her almost $20,000 to reschedule. This not just a sympathetic bride's news going viral, but, a lesson for anyone who is being careless towards his/her damaged passport. Having a passport is not enough to fly. Even though your passport may be completely valid under US State Department regulations, the State Department is not the only agency involved in getting you where you want to go. Your passport will still need to pass the scrutiny of airline employees and TSA security officials in order to get you on your flight. Read the complete post here to understand when your passport falls into the criteria of a damaged one. Why it is important to take good care of this most important ID proof.

A newlywed bride made headlines this week. But not because of her stunning gown or the wedding event's. It was because she missed her honeymoon over a damaged passport costing her almost $20,000 to reschedule. This not just a sympathetic bride's news going viral, but, a lesson for anyone who is being careless towards his/her damaged passport. Having a passport is not enough to fly. Even though your passport may be completely valid under US State Department regulations, the State Department is not the only agency involved in getting you where you want to go. Your passport will still need to pass the scrutiny of airline employees and TSA security officials in order to get you on your flight. Read the complete post here to understand when your passport falls into the criteria of a damaged one. Why it is important to take good care of this most important ID proof.

THE NEW YORK City government implemented new regulations last week, enabling oversight of short-term rentals. These rules now mandate hosts to register with the city when renting their homes for less than 30 days, and AAHOA issued a statement supporting the law. Under this rule as of Sept. 5, platforms such as Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com are required to confirm a host's registration approval before processing fees. Failing to register a rental listing could lead to penalties of up to $1,500 per transaction for these platforms, while hosts themselves face potential fines of up to $5,000. "[The Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement]'s initial phase of Local Law 18 enforcement will focus on collaborating with the booking platforms to ensure they are using the city's verification system, that all verifications are occurring correctly, and that the platforms stop processing unverified transactions," said the OSE's website.

THE AMERICAN FRANCHISE business model is in trouble, according to a recent survey commissioned by AAHOA. The survey was inspired by a webinar AAHOA co-sponsored to gather public comment on the state of franchising for the Federal Trade Commission. The survey found that only 5 percent of the franchisee respondents are satisfied that their current franchise agreements provide fair terms representing a balanced relationship between themselves and their franchiser. Also, 72.6 percent of respondents would "possibly" or "probably" terminate their current franchised business within the next year if they could do so without penalty. "Franchising is in dire straits unless changes are made," said Laura Lee Blake, AAHOA president and CEO. "Franchising is still a powerful tool for economic mobility for America's small-business owners, including AAHOA Members. But franchising only works when both franchisors and franchisees are committed to its success, which requires transparency, fairness, and sustainable business practices. As this survey shows, there is much room for improvement when it comes to relationships that allow our small-business owners to thrive." Blake recently wrote an editorial supporting AAHOA's 12 Points of Fair Franchising and its promotion of a proposed New Jersey law that would reform that state's franchising regulations in ways similar to the 12 points. Several large hotel companies, including Choice Hotels International and Marriott International, protested AAHOA's recent annual convention in protest to its position on franchise reform The survey was conducted among owners of hotels, restaurants, retail stores and other small businesses that had participated in the FTC webinar. It was co-sponsored by the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers, and the Coalition of Franchisee Associations, conducted the survey after a recent webinar with FTC Chair Lina Khan. The FTC is soliciting comments through June 8 about issues that affect franc

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL Ashley Moody is targeting fake postings offering vacation rental properties. The state's campaign against these specific scams plays into AAHOA's call for more short-term rental regulation, the association said. The scams involve fake postings offering vacation rental properties with requests for application fees or security deposits, according to Moody's office. Victims of the scam pay the deposit, only to find the listing has disappeared and so has the deposit money. The would-be vacationers often show up at the property and find that the actual owners have no record or intention of renting. "Florida is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the nation," Moody said. "Scammers will take advantage of this by creating fake vacation rental listings in hopes of stealing personal information and money. Whether you are traveling within the state or from out of state, make sure to take extra precautions when renting a vacation home to avoid being burned this summer vacation season."

HOSPITAITY FIRM OYO Rooms has filed fresh documents with India's stock market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, for an Initial Public Offering in early next year, media reports said. The company filed fresh financial documents on Sept. 19 and is now targeting an IPO in January 2023, according to CoStar. OYO filed preliminary IPO documents in 2021, only to shelve the listing plan earlier this year after the prolonged pandemic hurt its growth and forced the company to cut thousands of jobs. The latest financial documents showed narrower losses and a rebound in sales for the year through March 2022 and in the three months to June 2022.

CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL is accusing the board of directors for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts of not being forthcoming with the company's shareholders regarding Choice's exchange offer to acquire Wyndham. In its counter to the Wyndham board's rejection of the offer, Choice took issue with Wyndham's concerns about getting regulatory approval for the deal and said Wyndham shareholders support the "industrial merits of a transaction." In its original proposal, made public in October, Choice said it sought to acquire all the outstanding shares of Wyndham at a price of $90 per share and shareholders would have received $49.50 in cash and 0.324 shares of Choice common stock for each Wyndham share they own. Choice claimed that is a 30 percent premium to Wyndham's 30-day volume-weighted average closing price ending on Oct. 16, an 11 percent premium to Wyndham's 52-week high, and a 30 percent premium to Wyndham's latest closing price. Wyndham's board unanimously rejected Choice's proposal, calling it unsolicited, "highly conditional" and not in the best interest of shareholders. On Nov. 14, however, Choice sent a letter to the Wyndham board with an "enhanced proposal" intended to address Wyndham's concerns about clearing federal regulations. On Dec. 12, Choice launched its public exchange offer to acquire Wyndham and on Dec. 19 the Wyndham board officially rejected the offer and urged shareholders not to tender shares for the deal.

Commercial drones on home turf represent a huge opportunity for business and a significant risk for air traffic control. While some countries forge ahead with new commercial drone regulations, the US Federal Aviation Administration has been criticised for its slow progress.