# AAHOA takes hotel owners to Capitol Hill to demand clear rules

Canonical-URL: https://notitur.com/en/digest/aahoa-hotel-owners-capitol-hill-hospitality-priorities
Text-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/aahoa-hotel-owners-capitol-hill-hospitality-priorities.txt
Markdown-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/aahoa-hotel-owners-capitol-hill-hospitality-priorities.md
Language: en
Published: 2026-09-23T10:00:51.962Z
Modified: 2026-09-23T10:00:51.962Z
Author: Joan Sanz
Topics: Hotels
Summary: Hundreds of independent hotel owners meet with lawmakers to push for higher SBA loan limits, fairer franchise contracts and real credit card competition.

## Article

AAHOA is back doing what it does best: putting its members face to face with lawmakers. During its **2026 National Leadership Advocacy Conference**, association members held **hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill**, pushing three levers that have been squeezing independent owners' P&L for years.

The first is **expanding SBA loan limits**, a long-running ask in a sector where traditional bank financing still looks at the small hotelier with suspicion. The second is **franchise contracts**, that terrain where owners often sign without real room to negotiate. The third is **competition in the credit card business**, a front that hits directly the fees an owner pays every time a guest swipes a card at the front desk.

As [Hospitality Net reports](https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4134520/aahoa-brings-hotel-owners-to-capitol-hill-to-advance-key-hospitality-priorities), the format is the usual one: mass presence in Washington, a single message and concentrated pressure. My read, and I'll say it plainly, is that this kind of lobbying works in the medium term. It won't change a law in an afternoon, but it puts the independent owner at the table where the rules of the game are decided. And at a time when big chains and OTAs play with a regulatory edge, having your own voice on Capitol Hill is the most profitable lever a small hotelier has.

## Sources

- Hospitality Net: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4134520/aahoa-brings-hotel-owners-to-capitol-hill-to-advance-key-hospitality-priorities

## Citation

AAHOA takes hotel owners to Capitol Hill to demand clear rules. Notitur. 2026-09-23. https://notitur.com/en/digest/aahoa-hotel-owners-capitol-hill-hospitality-priorities