Weekly Update: The HUB has launched, Convention room block closes Oct. 11

The Washington Hospitality Weekly: Oct. 3, 2019

In this issue:

Get your login today: The survival strategies HUB has launched
Hospitality Convention: Room block closes Oct. 11
Tacoma and Vancouver!Government Affairs Regional Meetings next week
As National Food Safety Month ends, stay food safety focused

Get your login today: The survival strategies HUB has launched

You told us increasing labor costs are a challenge, so we created our first-ever, members-only online Hospitality Industry Survival Strategies HUB. The HUB is filled with videos, articles, podcasts and more teaching you how to increase revenues and cut costs to stay afloat. Click here to use our exclusive labor cost calculator.

Hospitality Convention: Room block closes Oct. 11

Join us at the Washington Hospitality Convention to learn about your customers’ loyalty patterns and the most popular trends. Your customers are engaging with multiple platforms to make their lives easier like delivery apps, online business programs and so much more.

Act quickly – the room block closes Oct. 11!

Register today

Minimum wage increases coming Jan. 1, 2020

The statewide minimum wage will increase by $1.50 to $13.50 per hour beginning on Jan.1, 2020. Local minimum wages in Seattle and SeaTac will also increase based on inflation. Those rates are not yet posted. Check our minimum wage resources page for more information.

Commuter Benefits Ordinance white paper

Do you know everything there is to know about the Seattle Commuter Benefits Ordinance? We joined up with our friends at Alice to give you the details of the ordinance in this white paper.

Tacoma and Vancouver! Government Affairs Regional Meetings coming next week

The State Government Affairs team will be traveling on Oct. 8 to Tacoma and on Oct. 10 to Vancouver for these regional meetings. You will have an opportunity to talk about topics important to the industry like restrictive scheduling and the costs of doing business.

To RSVP, please contact Katie Doyle and reserve your spot.

For the complete list of regional meeting dates and times, click here.

Square Up increases credit card processing rates

The credit card processor Square Up announced last week that it is eliminating its flat 2.75% rate pricing for transactions, according to cardfellow.com. The new rate, 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction, will most prominently impact businesses making small transactions.

Want to save up to $2,800 a year and be treated like more than a string of numbers by your credit card processor? Click here.

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP

A 21-year-old college student worked at a Texas hotel for 32 hours alone during a flood. Guests say he’s a hero (CNN)

Seattle’s Sitka & Spruce is closing, and award-winning chef Matt Dillon sees trouble ahead for more restaurants (Seattle Times)

A new study shows just how much consumers want brands and culture to mix (Twitter Marketing)

Beatles Suite at Seattle’s Iconic Waterfront Hotel Still A Huge Hit (Forbes)

New program aims to create more restaurant cooks (Restaurant Business Online)

Millions of Americans Unprepared for Real ID (Travel Pulse)

A bed, a bath and a whiff of jasmine: Hotels try to lure customers with signature scents (The Washington Post)

Seattle homeless spending would surpass $100 million under Mayor Durkan’s budget next year (Seattle Times)

New construction values exceed $1 billion in Spokane County for 2019 (Spokesman-Review)

You Can’t Copyright a Recipe, But There Are Still Some Rules (Food and Wine)

As National Food Safety Month ends, stay food safety focused

The association now offers a food safety assessment program covering these four components:

Food safety

Allergen awareness

Back of house risk assessment

Brand protection

Our food safety program is more than just an assessment. Participants also get a corrective action plan focused on identifying root causes of violations. Learn more here.

Your chefs could mentor a ProStart team

ProStart, a two-year hospitality management and culinary program taught in high schools, has started! The new school year comes with a need for ProStart mentors. These students have a passion for hospitality and mentors have the unique opportunity to ignite and tend to that passion. Know someone who would be interested?

Let us know! Contact our ProStart Coordinator, Kelsi Mayther.