CHLA News Room

Training is an essential part of the responsibilities of an HR director, or a small property owner who is wearing an HR hat, along with many others. While larger properties can often rely on their corporate partners to provide training resources, that’s not the case for many independent or small properties. That’s why CHLA has assembled a wide range...

At the end of another legislative year, several new measures passed the California Legislature and will affect businesses across the state. Some have particular impact on the hotel and lodging industry and affect reporting requirements around pay, the deadline for supplemental paid sick leave, and the operating conditions and wages at “fast food” restaurants. Here is CHLA’s summary of three...

The past few years have created a more intensive focus on DEI—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—across industries and communities throughout the state. Visit Sacramento has taken its commitment to the next level, creating a new position dedicated to DEI, naming its former chief marketing officer, Sonya Bradley, as the first Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion last April. For Bradley, it...

Predictions, Debate, Data, Bigger Voices swirled among attendees of CHLA’s Crystal Ball Conference in late August. Panelists, presenters, and participants made it clear during a full day of discussions at the Westin Verasa Napa that what the future holds for California hotels depends on who you are. Guests are combining business with leisure traveling to create “bleisure” stays. Employees no longer...

Parking is a great amenity for hospitality to offer guests—and in urban locations it’s almost a necessity. The challenge facing property owners and managers is how to operate their parking resources to maximize revenue, minimize problems, and control expenses. It can be a difficult undertaking for many properties who otherwise deliver a superb and cost-effective guest experience. In many cases,...

HR Is All About “Personal Relationships” and Avoiding “Entropy” HR in hospitality has been nothing if not challenging over the last few years—and Greg Alberto has been in the middle of it. Alberto is Director of Human Resources at The US Grant Hotel, a 112-year-old historic four-star property in San Diego. He has been in the hospitality business since emigrating to...

Robert Gleason President and CEO, Evans Hotels, San Diego Robert Gleason has been on a nearly four-decade journey to the top of the hospitality profession—all starting with a summer job in high school. Back in 1983, Gleason went to work in the reservations department at Evans Hotels, a family-owned business in San Diego. He didn’t know it then, but that would be...