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Newsletter
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Connecticut Lodging Association - May, 2004
Newsletter
1. Win prizes at the 11th Annual Golf Classic
2. Legislative wrap-up
3. Health Insurance
4. "Just One" Membership Campaign
5. AH&LA offers new program to save with Staples
6. Calendar
1. The 2004 CLA Golf Classic Committee has collected fabulous
prizes for our 11th Annual Golf Classic, which will be held on Tuesday,
June 15th at the Tunxis Plantation Golf Course in Farmington. There
are four hole-in-one prizes, including a prize for $10,000. Plus,
there is a "50-50" raffle, in which the winner and CLA
split the money raised by the sale of raffle tickets for the "50-50"
raffle. There is also a pass for one-year of free shows for two
at Toad's Place in New Haven, a number of gift certificates at Connecticut
restaurants and certificates for lodging at area resorts, including
Newport, RI.
Additional hole in one prizes include round trip
airline tickets for two, the choice of an item from a Sony electronics
package, and the choice of Callaway Irons or a BB II driver. You
can also win certificates for meals at the following restaurants:
Carmen Anthony's, Max's Restaurant Group, J. Timothy's, Reins Deli,
The Hawthorne Inn, and the Red Lobster. In addition, you can win
a deep sea fishing trip or a round of golf for four.
To register, download
the registration form in PDF format or call CLA at 860-635-5600.
2. Although this was a short legislative session,
it was an active one.
CLA successfully supported legislation to make
the tip credit for servers and bartenders permanent. CLA also
successfully opposed legislation that would have required restaurants
to provide training to employees and information to consumers
about food ingredients that may be allergens. We were not successful
in getting Gift Certificate reform passed despite the support
of over 90 legislators! We will be back fighting for this issue
next year.
Other legislation of interest includes the
ability of patrons in a hotel's dining room to remove an unfinished
bottle of wine from the premises, and a law which requires the
further identification of guide dogs entering public accommodations.
Bills which died include one related to the theft of services
for rental or lease of property, including transient guests in
hotels, and one which would have required Revenue Services to
allocate one-sixth of gross receipts from sales by hotels or lodging
facilities to the municipalities in which they are located.
Here is a run-down of some of the bills we
were interested in this past session:
HB 5394 - Concerning Gratuities in the Hotels
& Restaurant Industry.
This will make the Tip Credit for servers and bartenders permanent.
Without action, the Tip Credit would have reverted to 23%, down
from 29.3% for servers, and from 8.2% to 0% for bartenders after
December 31, 2004. Passed - awaiting the Governor's signature.
HB 5449 - Concerning Wine Ordered with Hotel
and Café Meals. Allows a hotel or café patron to
remove a partially consumed bottle of wine from the premises.
This bill corrects the omission of cafes and hotels on a bill
passed last year. Passed - Signed by the Governor.
HB 5408 - An Act Concerning Food Allergies.
Would have required restaurants to provide training to their employees
and information to consumers regarding food ingredients that may
be allergens. It would have required CT restaurants to provide
a list of all the ingredients in each menu item and to have available
at all times a person who is able to answer consumer inquiries
about food ingredients. Dead.
HB 5452 - Concerning Guide and Assistance Dogs.
This requires further identification of guide dogs for blind,
deaf or ability impaired persons when entering malls or restaurants.
Dogs must have an ID tag, ear tattoo, identifying bandanas on
puppies, identifying coats on adult dogs, or leashes and collars.
Takes effect Oct 1, 2005. Passed - signed by the Governor.
HB 5539 - An Act Concerning Sales Tax on Hotel
Occupancy. Would have permitted the Commissioner of Revenue Services
to allocate one-sixth of the gross receipts from sales by any
hotel or lodging house to the municipality in which the facility
is located. Dead.
HB 5340 -An Act Concerning Lump Sum Payments
Under the Workers' Compensation Act and Disqualifications and
Offsets under the Unemployment Compensation Act. Defines "willful
misconduct" to include an employee who is absent without
good cause or notice to the employer for three separate instances
in a 12 month period. (Previously, it was an 18-month period.)
As "separate instance" is defined as an absence without
good cause or notice to the employer for one day or two consecutive
days. Also allows workers' compensation commissioners to prorate
a lump sum payment over the life expectancy of an injured employee.
Passed - signed by Governor .
SB 288 - An Act Concerning Gift Certificates.
This would have exempted Gift Certificate monies from having to
be returned to the Treasury after three years and continues to
prohibit expiration dates on all gift certificates. Dead - despite
support by over 90 legislators and numerous amendment attempts.
SB 332 - An Act Increasing the Minimum Wage.
Would have provided for a standard annual cost of living increase
to the minimum wage, based on the National Consumer Price Index
and beginning in January 2006. Dead.
SB 397 - An Act Concerning Theft of Services
for Rental or Lease of Property. Would have made a person guilty
of theft for avoiding payment or failing or refusing to pay for
restaurant services or as a transient guest at a hotel, motel,
inn, tourist cabin or rooming house. Would have given the person
no more than 48 hours after written demand by registered or certified
mail to return property. Dead.
3. The Connecticut Lodging Association
has an opportunity to provide members
with significant savings on health insurance through a new program
available only for associations through Aetna Insurance. This program
promises higher discounts than are currently available. We will
only know the true value of this product to your properties if we
can gather sufficient data. Please send in your last health insurance
bill and information regarding your census. We are looking for the
number of employees to be covered, their zip codes, ages and gender.
The information is confidential. There is no obligation or commitment.
Please fax your information to the CLA at 860-635-6400.
4. Please join our "Just One" membership
campaign which challenges each CLA member to bring in one hotel
and one vendor. In the words of CLA Board member Andy Abels, everyone
should be able to get just one new member. If you need help in visiting
a potential member, Executive Director Simon A. Flynn and/or a CLA
Board member will join you for that visit. Let's make this happen!
If you need to know who our current members and allied members are,
please see the CLA Membership Directory. Applications for both regular
and allied members can also be found in the Membership Directory
or on the website.
5. AH&LA Saved 20% with Staples---Now You Can, Too!
By moving office supply purchases to Staples
Business Advantage, AH&LA saved 19.8% in the most recent quarter.
Effective immediately, it has negotiated for member properties and
state associations to share in the savings.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association
and Connecticut Lodging Association are proud to announce our strategic
partnership with Staples Business Advantage. This program is designed
to provide your properties with substantial savings on everyday
business expenses like office supplies. This program offers an average
discount of 60% off manufacturer list prices on items featured in
or AH&LA Pre-priced, Unbelievably Low Priced Catalog and an
average 40% off their large stock catalog. Whether you Phone, Fax
or Order On-Line, Staples offers Fast and Free Delivery, so your
order is always there when you need it.
This contract is offered exclusively through
Staples Business Advantage, the business-to-business division of
Staples, Inc. You will not find these prices in your local Staples
retail stores, Staples Direct mail order catalogs or Staples.com
without signing your property up today. Register your property today:
"Link" or email david.linehan@staples.com.
6. CLA Calendar
June 2 CLA Board Meeting - 10
AM, Holiday Inn, New London
June 7 ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin, New London, Stamford
June 15 11th Annual Golf Classic,
Tunxis Plantation Golf Course. Download
the
registration.
July 12 ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin
August 2 ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin, Stamford
August 2 CLA Board Meeting - Holiday
Inn Select, Stamford
September 6 ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin
September 22 CLA 100th Annual
Meeting & Stars of the Industry,
at Foxwoods Resort & Casino. Registration information to be
mailed at the end of June.
October 4- ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin/Stamford
October 5 CLA Board Retreat
November 1 ServSafe Food Sanitation
Class - Berlin/Stamford
Nov. 12-16 AH&LA Fall Conference
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