NEW YORK — Maintaining tax cuts for small businesses at the federal level and continuing to push back on wage hikes at the local level are among the top priorities for the American Hotel & Lodging Association this year.
During a podcast interview recorded during the 2025 NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum, AHLA President and CEO Rosanna Maietta said she is focused on ensuring the hotel industry is protected in budget legislation — referred to as "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" — currently working its way through Congress. That includes maintaining tax cuts for businesses first made in 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
"Without that there would be a tax hike for half of the small business owners in the country of upwards of 20% to 25%, which which would put many out of business," she said. "So we really need to make sure that that stays included."
Maietta noted other top priorities for that legislation include: "100% bonus depreciation extended for the next several years."
"That's going to matter when it comes to increasing projects, expansion, capital investments and ongoing renovations that a lot of hotels want to do before some of the big events that we're expecting next year and the year after," she continued. "And then the like-kind exchange and some other provisions and no tax on tips, which will benefit 800,000 hotel employees."
On the state and local level, AHLA continues to push back against "onerous workforce mandates or extreme wage issues," Maietta said. The front lines of those fights seem to be happening in Los Angeles, right now, as that market gears up to host major events, including the World Cup and Olympics, in coming years.
"It's a tough market," she said. "You haven't seen a lot of real hotel development in the last 10 years. People don't want to invest. They can't afford it. The math just doesn't make any sense. And so right now, if you think about it, travel and tourism accounts for almost a half a million jobs in Los Angeles alone. That's a lot of jobs. But these types of ordinances will force many people to go out of business, and that means those jobs are lost."
For the rest of the conversation with AHLA's Maietta, including how the organization is more broadly tackling labor issues and how it's working with other hotel industry trade groups, listen to the podcast above.