ORLA Update - March 31, 2023

Legislative Update / ORLA in the News / ProStart Championships / New Mattress Stewardship Act

Next Legislative Deadline Approaching: April 4, 2023, is the date bills need to be moved out of policy committees in their chamber of origin. ORLA’s Government Affairs Committee continues with Zoom meetings every Friday morning fostering good discussion and updates on legislative activity. If you are interested in joining, please sign up and we'll connect with you before next week's call. You can find the latest bill tracking on our website. All in all, we’re pleased with where we are in advocating for members at this stage in the session.

ORLA in News: On several occasions these past few weeks ORLA has been tapped for industry perspective on various issues, industry events and insights. Here are some highlights: 

• At Oregon ProStart Championships, high schoolers show off their culinary and business chops (OPB, Mar. 19) - Oregon’s hospitality industry employs more people than any other business sector besides health care. And even during the pandemic — a time that majorly challenged traveling — visitors to Oregon spent nearly $11 billion in the state in 2021. But keeping the industry growing will take skilled workers, which is where ProStart comes in. ProStart is a nationwide career technical education program supported by the Oregon Hospitality Foundation. Ken Henson is vice chair of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation and was the lead culinary judge for the event. He joined OPB’s “All Things Considered” host Crystal Ligori to talk through how the competition played out.
• Portland's Reputation Improving, But Hotel Occupancy Remains Depressed (OregonLive, Mar. 22) - Prospective visitors have a much better impression of Portland than at the end of 2020, according to new survey data, but hotel occupancy and revenues remain far below what they were before COVID-19. Jason Brandt, CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, said he’s seeing improvement in perceptions of Portland and the hospitality industry. But he said the city needs to do more to make downtown feel welcoming to visitors. “We need a sense of urgency when it comes to guest safety and employee safety,” Brandt said. “If we can really execute on timelines and objectives for creating a consistent, safe and energized downtown core it doesn’t just help the downtown. It helps the surrounding area with repeat business and ongoing recovery of our reputation.”
• Oregon association urges ‘laser-like focus’ on crime for restaurant recovery (KOIN 6, Mar. 26) - Oregon’s restaurant and lodging industry, like many service organizations, struggled during the pandemic. Amid a post-pandemic comeback, the industry faces record-high inflation, labor shortages and in some cases, crime. The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association reports 2,000 out of the 10,000 restaurants across the state have closed since the start of COVID, but more than 1,200 have also opened. “There’s a lot of course correction happening right now in the industry,” said Jason Brandt, president and CEO of ORLA. “What we’re seeing is some progress in our ongoing recovery efforts, but we’re not back to 2019 levels and that goes for both the restaurant and the lodging side.” Brandt says there are several factors causing a lack of stability in the restaurant and lodging industries such as soaring food, beverage and food service equipment costs. The ORLA CEO explained this creates barriers for low-level profit margins.
• Cannon Beach explores lodging tax increase to help fund projects (Daily Astorian, Mar. 29) - After cost estimates for the redevelopment of the former elementary school and construction of a new City Hall and police station came in much higher than anticipated, city officials are weighing different funding options, as well as reductions in the scope of the projects. During a City Council work session Tuesday night, options were presented for increasing the city’s lodging tax by 1.5% or 2%, along with options for reducing the scope of the projects. Greg Astley, the director of government affairs for the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, said the tourism industry is still recovering in Oregon. He urged the city to consider cutting back on the projects. “People love Cannon Beach, but they may not love it as much if they don’t feel welcome here,” Astley said. “And when you increase your costs to visitors, whether that be when they go out to have a bite to eat, or whether they come to the hotel, that can be disheartening.”
• ORLA Launches Fourth Year of Leadership Program for Tourism Professionals (ORLA, Mar. 30) - In April, ORLA will launch the fourth-year launch of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy (OTLA), developed in partnership with the Oregon Destination Association and Travel Oregon, and led by the industry’s top experts. The annual experiential learning program is targeted to public and private sector tourism professionals who are seeking to polish their leadership and professional skills, continue to grow their career accomplishments, and make positive and lasting contributions to the state’s tourism economy and its success. View a roster for the fourth-year class.

Mattress Stewardship Act: The Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public comment on proposed rules for the Mattress Stewardship Act (SB 1576, 2022). More information on this rulemaking, including the draft rules, can be found on the Mattress Stewardship 2023 Rulemaking web page. DEQ will accept comments by email, postal mail or verbally at the public hearing on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Start time: 9 a.m.; please register prior to the meeting, using this Zoom link. Send via postal mail to Oregon DEQ, Attn: Rachel Harding/Materials Management, 700 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 600, Portland, Oregon 97232-4100. DEQ will only consider comments on the proposed rules that DEQ receives by 4 p.m., on April 28, 2023.

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Are You a Member Yet? The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) keeps members informed and educated on important issues impacting the hospitality industry. If you are not yet a member of ORLA, please consider joining the association in order to access the latest industry intelligence for businesses like yours. Visit our Membership page or reach out the ORLA Regional Representative nearest you.