Why I’m Not Making Campaign Promises
For more than forty years, I’ve lived this business — not from a distance, but from behind the front desk, in the boiler room, and across countless renovation sites. I’ve fixed pipes, managed brand conversions, balanced payroll, and helped other owners get through tough seasons.
I’ve built hotels, started an independent franchise, and spent years volunteering to strengthen AAHOA, because I believe every owner deserves fairness, education, and opportunity.
After all that time, one truth has never changed: leadership is service.
That’s why, as I step forward to earn your vote as the next AAHOA Secretary, I’m not making campaign promises. Promises sound nice, but too often they fade after the applause stops. AAHOA Members don’t need promises, they need results.
So instead, I’m offering something different: a challenge. A challenge to myself, to AAHOA’s leaders, and to every member who calls this industry home.
A Challenge to Lead Differently
Fairness. Education. Advocacy. Profitability, I’ve built my career by putting these values into action.
We talk about fair franchise practices, but fairness only happens when leaders demand transparency and accountability at every level. We talk about stronger vendor partnerships, but that takes tough conversations about pricing, rebates, and value for owners. We talk about better education, but it only works if we make learning practical, accessible, and multilingual — so every member can benefit, not just a few.
True leadership comes from showing up with consistency, honesty, and respect for others.
I challenge every AAHOA leader, current and future, to welcome scrutiny, to share information openly, and to put owners’ profitability before politics. When we lead that way, we protect members’ interests and livelihoods.
A Challenge to Members
AAHOA’s true power sits behind the front desks of more than 20,000 hotels owned by our members. That’s where decisions are made, risks are taken, and families build their futures.
Our founders built this association because they refused to accept unfair treatment from the system. That same courage still defines us today.
So here’s my challenge to every member:
Speak up. Your voice carries weight. Don’t wait for others to represent your story.
Get involved. Join committees, attend meetings, and help shape policy from the ground up.
Push for progress. Don’t settle for “that’s how it’s always been.” AAHOA exists to make things better, not to preserve comfort zones.
When members engage, AAHOA grows stronger. And when owners unite around shared goals — fairness, transparency, profitability — we become impossible to ignore.
A Challenge to Myself
Throughout my career, I’ve tried to live by three principles: fairness, service, and follow-through.
I don’t ask others to do what I’m not willing to do myself.
That’s why my personal challenge is simple: to listen more than I speak, to act more than I promise, and to stay accountable long after the election ends. I owe that to the people who built this industry and to those who will inherit it next.
We don’t need another campaign built on words. We need a movement built on purpose and grounded in fairness, education, advocacy, and profitability for every hotel owner.
That’s the standard I hold myself to, and the spirit I hope we all carry forward.
Because progress in hospitality has never come from promises.
It’s always come from people who show up, serve others, and follow through.
