AHLA applauds House passage of important tax relief for hotels

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) president and CEO Chip Rogers (pictured) has welcomed the US House of Representatives passing the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024), which would temporarily extend a number of tax provisions that AHLA deems critical to the hotel industry. “The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act would provide vital economic help to America’s hotels, encouraging investment in both hotel properties and employees,” said Rogers. “We thank members of the House for passing this important, bipartisan bill. We encourage the Senate to quickly get this legislation to the president’s desk, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to permanently extend the bill’s tax-relief measures.” The bill provides for an extension of the 100% bonus depreciation through the end of 2025. Under current law, leasehold and other qualifying interior improvements are eligible for bonus depreciation. In 2026, bonus depreciation would fall to 20% and expire after 2026. It also enshrines a retroactive, four-year extension of the taxpayer-favourable EBITDA standard for measuring the amount of business interest deductible. And there is provision accelerating the deadline to file claims for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) to 31 January, 2024. With the potential closure of the program to new applicants, AHLA encourages any businesses still considering applying to do so quickly. AHLA is the largest hotel association in America, representing more than 30,000 members from all segments of the industry nationwide. The association has also published results of a survey it commissioned showing 72% of Americans likely to maintain or increase hotel stays in 2024. The results also show inflation is preventing hotels and other travel-related businesses from reaching full potential.  The survey, conducted by Morning Consult, found that most Americans (53%) plan to travel overnight for leisure during the next four months, and 32% plan to travel overnight for business. Hotels remain the most popular lodging choice for likely travellers, including 71% of likely business travellers and 50% of likely leisure travelers. However, 56% of respondents said they are less likely to stay in a hotel because of inflation and 48% said they are less likely to travel by aeroplane because of inflation. The poll surveyed 2,202 US adults 6-7 January, 2024. Among the other findings of the survey, 35% ranked high-speed Wi-Fi as the top technological amenity they consider when evaluating hotels. View an overview of the poll results here.