Industry officials say proposed US rule could harm hotels and conventions
Industry officials say proposed US rule could harm hotels and conventions
US hotel industry officials are complaining that they are being sabotaged by the Obama administraiton just as the industry has started to recover from the recession in a issue that could also slow the MICE market as well.
Their major complaint: a new rule proposed by Obama’s Office of Government Ethics to prohibit most federal employees from attending conferences and other gatherings hosted by businesses organizations that lobby the government.
The proposed rule is unneeded and prevents federal employees from mingling with their peers to discuss trends and issues in the industry, complains the American Hotel & Lodging Association AHLA).
The new rule could harm the recovering convention industry as well, says the AHLA.
“Hotels are often the sites for conferences and events that federal employees would be banned from attending, thereby creating a direct negative impact to our business,” AHLA president Joe McInerney said in a statement. “This would have grave consequences for hotels, the economy, and the millions of workers our industry employs.”
The Office of Government Ethics said they are proposing the rule because federal employees of the executive branch who get free perks from lobbyists may have undue influence in government affairs.
The public has until Nov. 14 to comment on the rule by going to the website www.federalregister.gov and searching “government ethics office, says the LA Times.
By David Wilkening
David
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