Obama and the hotel industry at odds again

24 Oct, 2011 By: David Eisen

Oh no, it looks President Obama and the hotel industry are at it again. Haven't we seen this before? Oh yes, of course. Remember AIG? Who doesn't? The darlings of of the U.S. debt crisis spent lavishly on luxury hotel getaways, prompting the President to come out against them. But he didn't stop there. He went on to blast Las Vegas, not once, but twice, in the span of two years (the regular rhetoric: don't go out blowing a wad of cash in Vegas).

Is it that President Obama just hates hotels and resorts? Can't be, right? Who, particularly a U.S. president, would hate an industry that supplies thousands of jobs and helps inject millions of dollars into the economy? Whoops...

Well, just when you thought the President learned his lesson, he's at it again, riling the feathers of hoteliers across America. This time, it goes like this. The Los Angeles Times reports that "a new rule proposed by Obama's Office of Government Ethics would prohibit most federal employees from accepting free admission to conferences and other gatherings held by businesses or organizations that lobby the government."

The American Hotel & Lodging Assn., the trade group that represents the nation's hotels, of course, blasted the proposed rule, saying "it is unneeded and would prevent federal employees from mingling with people to learn about trends and problems in the country." Moreover, the rule would cut down on convention attendance, trade shows and other gatherings, mostly held in hotels.

I mean, doesn't President Obama know that the hotel industry is just getting back on its feet? Doesn't he read the STAR report weekly?

According to the L.A. Times, the Office of Government Ethics said "it proposed the rule because federal employees of the executive branch who get free attendance to an event, particularly a gala or a concert, receive a gift they 'will enjoy in the very company of the lobbyist.'"

Who doesn't like presents?