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WITH A GRAND procession through the streets of his home village of Sarona, India, shared online in a video, Jayanti P. "J.P." Rama left this world as a legend among his peers. The former AAHOA chairman and longtime hotelier left a legacy that will last for decades with the younger generation he mentored and inspired. Rama died Feb. 17 while visiting family in Ahmedabad, India, at the age of 74. He was co-founder of JHM Hotels, now Greenville, South Carolina-based auroHOTELS, which now is run by his son, D.J. Rama. He is survived also by his daughter, Rita Rama Patel, wife Ilaben (Laxmiben) Rama and brothers, Hasmukh "H.P." Rama, Manhar "M.P." Rama and Raman "R.P." Rama, all of whom traveled to India for the funeral. For those friends and family of Rama who could not attend the actual ceremony, Auro University in Surat, a private university founded by the Rama family and auroHOTELS, has posted a video on YouTube. Tributes to Rama also continued to come in, as seen below.

ONE VERSION OF a proposed New Jersey bill that would reshape hotel franchising in the state has passed out of committee in the Assembly but efforts reportedly are under way to amend it to address opponents' concerns. The Senate version of the bill remains in committee. The American Hotel & Lodging Association, a long-time critic of the proposed legislation, called the Assembly Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture's passage of the bill a "dangerous step forward." Supporters of the bill, including AAHOA as well as sponsors of the bill, did not respond to requests for comment in time for this article. What's at stake The bills, A3495 in the Assembly and S2336 in the Senate, were introduced at the beginning of the year to replace the original legislation that stalled in the state's legislature last year. It is essentially the same as its prior incarnation. Specifically, the provisions include restricting non-competes that are longer than six months; prohibiting requiring a relocation or capital investment greater than $25,000 more than once every five years unless hotel franchisers can establish a return on the investment; requiring a franchiser that receives "any rebate, commission, kickback, services, other consideration or anything of value" to fully disclose them to the franchisee and turn them over to the franchisee; putting restrictions on mandatory sourcing of goods or resources; and prohibiting suspending, restricting or preventing access to franchise services.

HOSPITALITY FINANCIAL AND Technology Professionals, the global representative for hospitality technology and producers of HITEC, recently initiated a project to develop a digital responsibility code for the hospitality industry. HFTP is forming a task force of experts and academics to develop the code. HFTP commissioned the University of Houston to write a white paper on digital responsibility, featured in the inaugural issue of HFTP's Tech+Fin Hospitality Magazine at HITEC 2024, HFTP said in a statement. The paper and industry discussions highlighted the need for guidelines on digital responsibility. Task force members include: ProfitSence Favicon Ads by ProfitSence Co-chair Scot Campbell, principal, Integrated Resort Advisors, HFTP Global past president and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Co-chair Agnes DeFranco, Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair at University of Houston and HFTP Global past president Mike Blake, vice president, IT, Kemper Sports Steven Bronken, head of global hospitality, Ruckus Networks Sanovnik Destang, executive director, Bay Gardens Resorts Florian Gallini, CEO, INTEREL Thomas Hempel, vice president, sales and partnerships, VENZA Barry Thomas, vice president, technology, Orient Express and Fairmont Hotels Sherry Marek, founder, Aiken Street Consulting and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Shannon McCallum, vice president, hotel operations, Resorts World Las Vegas, Neal Patel, managing partner, Blue Chip Hotels, AAHOA past chairman Andrew Rubinacci, chief advisory officer, FLYR for Hospitality Thomas Atzenhofer, deputy CEO, HFTP "There are many good practices for digital responsibility throughout the industry, but these have never been aggregated, vetted and published as a compilation of the best practices in a uniform guide," said Atzenhofer. "HFTP's task force of global industry technology and business experts, has agreed to tackle the task and make the ind

OKLAHOMA CITY HOTELIER Hemant Shantilal Mistry died on June 23 following an assault in his motel parking lot the previous night. Richard Lewis, 41, was arrested in connection with the attack in which police say he punched Mistry, who died from the impact. Mistry, 59, an AAHOA member, is the second Indo American hotelier this year to die from on-duty violence following the murder of Pravin R. Patel, owner of the Hillcrest Motel in Sheffield, Alabama, in February. A video of the assault has gone viral on social media, showing Mistry in a white t-shirt arguing with Lewis in a sky blue t-shirt. The argument escalates, culminating in Lewis punching Mistry in the face. Mistry collapses as Lewis walks away. Police found Mistry unconscious around 10:00 pm and transported him to a nearby hospital, where he died at 7:40 pm the following day from his injuries, according to a police report.

IT'S TIME FOR AAHOA'S 2022 Convention and Trade Show in Baltimore, Maryland. More than 5,200 members are expected attend the show Tuesday to Friday at the Baltimore Conference Center This year's AAHOACON22 marks a return to the conference's regular April schedule after last year's conference was held in August. More than 450 companies will be exhibiting at the show, which will feature 10 education sessions and three networking events. "AAHOA's staff and convention committee have been working around the clock to make this year the best one yet. Whether for education, inspiration, deal-making, networking, or simply having fun, we have an incredible lineup for this year's event," said Vinay Patel, AAHOA's current chairman. "To everyone who has already registered to attend and are headed to Baltimore, it means so much to us that you've made the necessary sacrifices to be here. We hope you find AAHOACON22 to be immeasurably enriching and rewarding, and a valuable experience. We can't wait to see our old friends, make new ones, and celebrate the hard work we've all put in over the past few months."

TEXAS-BASED G6 HOSPITALITY launched 'Light Her Way' program to empower women seeking hotel ownership opportunities with tools and resources, a statement said. The company announced the program during AAHOA's inaugural HerOwnership Conference & Retreat in October. The Carrollton, Texas-based G6 owns Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S. and Canada. "We have always promoted the belief that everyone has the right to travel, but it is just as important that everyone have the right to ownership," said Tina Burnett, chief development officer, G6 Hospitality. "The launch of 'Light Her Way' will empower women on the path to ownership and is an example of how we live up to our values."

HURRICANE IAN PLOWED across Cuba and strengthened into a Category 4 storm Wednesday with its sites on central Florida, where it would kill more than 70 people before moving on to the Carolinas. Part of what made Ian so deadly was its unpredictability, as south Florida hotelier Jan Gautam witnessed. Gautam, president and CEO of IHRMC Hotels & Resorts in Orlando, said Ian hit with Category 1 force wind in the Kissimmee and Orlando area, damaging seven of his properties. That came as a surprise to many of his guests who had fled the Tampa area where Ian had been expected to hit. "This particular hurricane was supposed to hit Tampa Bay and we were not expecting it to come towards us in Orlando," Gautam said. "Suddenly, at the last moment the route was changed and most of the people from the Tampa area were staying in Orlando, so hotels in Orlando were completely full. These were the people who came from central Florida and we were actually beaten up badly."

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."

THE NATIONAL LABOR Relations Board recently withdrew its appeal of a Texas judge's ruling blocking its joint employer rule that would have broadened the shared responsibility for employees between franchisers and franchisees. Opponents of the rule said it would have damaged small businesses, including hotels, while President Joe Biden's administration said it would better enable employees to protect their rights. On Friday, the NLRB asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to dismiss its challenge, saying it believes the rule is lawful but wants "to consider options for addressing the outstanding joint employer matters before it," according to Bloomberg Law. The appeal had been related to a March 8 ruling in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business associations challenging the rule's legality.