HOSPITABLE DISCUSSION
Tourism industry leaders discuss concerns with legislators
ALBANY, N.Y. » Tourism industry leaders from the Greater Capital Region met with state and local legislative representatives for a roundtable discussion on Thursday to discuss important issues pertaining to the tourism industry, including short-term rentals and the proposed elimination of the tip credit.
With both new and ongoing issues at hand, the purpose of the event was to advance the hospitality industry’s local and statewide legislative agendas. The meeting, held Thursday morning at the Albany Marriott, drew more than any other in recent years and had more sponsors, including the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association, Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, Rensselaer County Tourism, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, Discover Schenectady, Washington County Tourism, and Fulton County Tourism Department.
The strong showing at Thursday’s meeting, New York State Hospitality and Tourism
Association President Mark Dorr said, shows how important tourism is to the Greater Capital Region.
The New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association is a not-for-profit trade organization representing 1,100 member businesses and individuals in the lodging and attractions industry, mostly hotels. The organization’s mission is to provide a strong voice for the New York state hospitality and tourism industry, and to protect and enhance the financial welfare of the industry.
On Thursday, the plan was to get the industry’s concerns in front of the legislators who can help.
The legislators in attendance to hear from the industry players were Assembly members John McDonald, Patricia Fahy, Mary Beth Walsh and Carrie Woerner, as well as a representative from state Sen. Jim Tedisco’s office.
One of the most hot button issues on the meeting agenda was the proposed elimination of the tip credit.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed eliminating the minimum wage tip credit in New York state. In this proposal, part of the 2018 State of the State, Cuomo directed the Commissioner of Labor to schedule public hearings to examine industries and evaluate the possibility of ending minimum wage tip credits in the state, with an eye toward replacing tipping with an increased minimum wage. The governor’s website says: “In certain workplaces, such as car washes and restaurants, where wages and tips are both generally low, workers’ income can rely entirely upon tips. These tips, meant as a reward for good service, instead serve as a critical wage subsidy that brings workers’ wages just up to the legally mandated minimum wage.”
Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association, spoke to event-goers about the negative effect eliminating the tip credit could have on the industry.
“We think that eliminating the tip credit in New York state would be bad for employers, bad for employees and it is a failed policy,” she said, predicting that the move would lead to higher prices, fewer shifts and fewer employees.
Those at the meeting were encouraged to speak out, with their employees, at an upcoming public hearing at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 18 at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
The other hot topic of the roundtable was shortterm rentals, more specifically Airbnb. These rentals are currently unregulated in terms of both taxes and safety measures throughout New York, and many in the hospitality industry want to see that change.
Other agenda items up for discussion were proposed call-in pay regulations, maintaining the Tourism Matching Funds Program, and a definition change that would allow more hotel properties to obtain a liquor license.
After the meeting, Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau President Todd Garofano said the issue that most greatly affects the Saratoga region is shortterm rentals. His organization is in favor of regulations being established, as it would help level the playing field within the area’s hospitality industry.
“The Airbnb market, the short-term rental market is here to stay, and it is beneficial in some cases,” he said, but the bureau believes it should be regulated, and steps are being taken to make it happen.
Rensselaer County Tourism representative Christine Golden said tip credits, with the flourishing Troy restaurant scene, and the state’s matching funds program are most relevant in Rensselaer County, and she’s glad to have the opportunity to be part of this conversation with those in higher government. She said of Thursday’s event, “These are always good to get the industry together with the legislators and just share what’s important to us.”
Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, another event sponsor, spoke out strongly against the proposed tip credit elimination, but said the potential policy that scares him the most is the proposed call-in pay regulation. This, among other rules, would require employers to pay workers two additional hours of callin pay when a shift is scheduled less than 14 days before the start of the shift.
Shimkus said he’s heard more concerns from chamber members about this regulation than any other issue in his eight-year tenure with the chamber. “It impacts every small business,” he said, adding that many Saratoga County businesses are weather-dependent. “Nobody knows what they’re doing 14 days in advance. You can’t predict the weather 14 days in advance,” he said.
“That one just makes no sense,” he continued. “We keep saying it’s the death of common sense to impose that kind of a ridiculous state takeover of employee scheduling.”