Long Beach, Calif. : The 3,700 Indian-American hoteliers who attended the April 23-26 Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) convention were not perturbed to hear that the hospitality industry may not pick up till 2004. They have been living the direct impact not just of the slowing economy and travel since 2000, but also of the 9/11 attacks and of every terrorist threat warning issued by Homeland Security since then.

Part of the prevailing calm at the convention was because this segment of middle- and small-size hotels that Indian Americans control did not suffer as greatly as the upscale hotel chains. They had the time and the inclination to listen to luminaries like basketball legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, maverick political consultant James Carville, Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal, Republican Rep. Ed Royce, and industry leaders like Jonathan Tisch, chairman and CEO, Loews Hotels, and chairman of the influential Travel Business Roundtable, of which AAHOA has become a member.

They also enjoyed a touch of Bollywood, with its electrifying dances and music, as well as fashion shows. And they heard about how AAHOA had overshot its commitment to donate free rooms to returning U.S. defense personnel and how it had helped rehabilitate people after the massive earthquake in Gujarat.

There was a little of everything.

But as savvy businessmen and women, they also came to share their experiences at myriad panels, voice their frustrations at general body meetings, and discuss their successes and trials in running an industry that has seen better days.

“We’ve never had a cycle like this in our industry,” said Bjorn Hanson, analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers. The occupancy rate is the lowest (59.2 percent) in the last 31 years, but the hotels most hurt were the upscale ones. The fact that Indian-American hoteliers control nearly 35-40 percent of hospitality industry properties

---- members of AAHOA own some 18,000 hotels and motels, with a market value of some $40 billion, creating an estimated one million jobs ---- makes AAHOA a voice that must be heard by the rest of the industry. It is also a voice that is reaching Capitol Hill, of late.

As a whole, the hospitality industry in the U.S. employs 18 million people, and generates $100 billion in taxes. How badly it has been hit by 9/11 is evident from the fact that half the jobs lost since that day have been in travel and tourism.

However, what bothers the Indian-American hoteliers, like it does the rest of the hospitality industry, the travel industry, physicians and even homeowners, is the challenge of meeting skyrocketing insurance premiums. It got the hoteliers in Long Beach mobilized and their organization has already acted quickly and decisively in their interest to find an alternative.

AAHOA may just be able to accomplish that in the next six months. It has already initiated a data collection survey of its members to build a saleable package to insurers, and if they don’t come up with a good plan, AAHOA might just get into the business of insurance.

With the war in Iraq ending sooner than predicted, the industry expects to see strong summer travel, hoping it will end the low room occupancy rate and raise it to at least 61 percent by 2004. Hoteliers are somewhat reassured by the fact that 30-40 percent of the low occupancy was due to travel concerns, rather than the economy.

An anecdotal profile of those attending the Long Beach convention shows some 95 percent or more are of Gujarati origin, either directly from India, or from East Africa and England. And 61 percent of those attending were owners, while 63 percent were multi-unit owners.

According to AAHOA president Fred Schwa-rtz, the organization took in more revenue in 2002 than in any other year in its history, showing the value of the organization to its members.

Treasurer M.P. Rama said AAHOA’s net income in 2002 was $380,000 and the organization had assets worth $3.3 million. “Despite the economic challenges, 2002 proved a good year for AAHOA. But it could be better,” Rama said.

He urged members to get more involved, induct more people, and encourage more vendors and sponsors. “Sponsors are the lifeblood of AAHOA,” he said.

Apart from all those who had sponsored the convention this year, which included Air-India, American Express, HBO, Amana Heating and Air Conditioning, Hilton Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, Cendant, LaQuinta Inns, Choice Hotels, and USA Today, to name a few, representatives from various companies contributed a lot of money ---- Best Western presented a $50,000 check for the Certified Hotel Owners Program, Carlsson Hospitality another $50,000, and Payment Tech LLP $152,000. Last year, Payment Tech processed some $320 million for AAHOA members. HBO signed another five-year agreement with AAHOA, as did American Express.

But whether AAHOA’s services reached all its members was not always evident from the hands-on survey done at one of the general meetings. Only 13 percent of those attending ever used Aahoa.com and 52 percent do not use it at all, a disappointment to Schwartz and other board members who thought the Web site would efficiently deliver information, education, and support when needed. Of its educational sessions, 35 percent thought they were “repetitive,” but 29 percent were “satisfied.”

Some 75 percent there did not avail of the Certified Hotel Owners Program, which, AAHOA believes, is beneficial to its members; 49 percent did not attend the town hall meetings AAHOA has been organizing around the country, but 27 percent believe not enough town hall meetings were being held. Despite the low use of Aahoa.com Web site, many of the members (41 percent) want to receive information through e-mail.

But a more positive aspect of change is the members’ view of franchisers. To date, AAHOA and, particularly, individual members have had a rocky relationship with franchisers. Today, 53 percent of respondents would prefer mediation rather than litigation with franchisers and 40 percent would rather avoid a “war” with them. And though some 49 percent were still “unsatisfied” with their franchiser, another 39 percent were “moderately satisfied,” and 6 percent were “very satisfied.” Notably, some 64 percent of the hoteliers felt that in a tough situation they would rather “dump” their franchiser if there was no penalty attached to doing that.

Mahesh ‘Mike’ Amin, outgoing chairman of AAHOA, noted that much of this dissatisfaction stems from the low occupancy rates being suffered by franchisees and what they perceive as a lack of support from franchisers.

Schwartz, who is on the executive committee of the influential Travel Business Roundtable, noted AAHOA’s successes in the last one year. “Among our most recent accomplishments is the landmark legislation that will provide $50 million in funding to promote the United States as a desirable travel destination to overseas markets,” he said.

AAHOA also took on the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In October, SBA annou-nced a stricter cap on loans it backed, bringing the limit down to $500,000. It joined with the ‘Acc-ess to Capital Coalition,’ headed by the director of small business policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “On February 25, our hard work paid off again. The SBA raised the cap on SBA-backed loans to $2 million,” Schwartz noted.

When Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Jindal addressed the convention, he said, “I want to build a bridge between our economic success and the political arena,” reinforcing what AAHOA is already moving toward.

The organization had as its stated objective to achieve its proper position within the hospitality industry. Many on its board believe that has been achieved. Now come the real challenges of growth ---- maximizing the clout of such an organization both locally and nationally.