Restaurant & Lodging - Autumn 2020

AUT U M N 2020

PANDEMIC PANACEA? Tech Helping Some Businesses Survive

Hospitality Helps: Providing Meals for Those in Need

5 Remote Work Best Practices COVID-19 and "Smart Hospitality"

VIRTUAL WINE TASTING HOME-TASTING KIT, THE SUNSHINE MILL, THE DALLES PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE SUNSHINE MILL

OregonRLA.ORG 1

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The company’s ongoing commitment limit waste. to waste prevention is motivated by an understanding that food is precious and that the environmental inputs necessary to grow, harvest, ship and prepare food how you can prevent food waste shouldLearn be balanced by careful planning, Learn how you can prevent food waste FoodWasteStopsWithMe.org FoodWasteStopsWithMe.org purchasing preparation of food to Food Wasteand Stops with Me is a collaboration between Metro, the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, Food Waste Stops with Me is a collaboration between limit waste. the Oregon Department of Environmental Metro, the Oregon Restaurant & LodgingQuality, Association, as well city and county governments to help food theas Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, as businesses well as city and county governments to help food service reduce food waste. service businesses reduce food waste.

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Ask your agent for an ORLA Group quote.

The ORLA Group now getting an additional SAIF WORKERS’ COMP PREMIUMS ORLA members who meet the group eligibility requirements can receive an additional 14% discount with SAIF in the ORLA group plan.

THIS IS THE LARGEST DISCOUNT AVAILABLE FOR OREGON’S HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS! ORLA MEMBERS: Contact your agent and ask for an ORLA Group quote, or contact SAIF directly at 888.598.5880.

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EXISTING SAIF CUSTOMERS: Ask your agent or contact SAIF directly at 888.598.5880 for an ORLA Group quote.

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMNOregonRLA.org/SAIF 2020

ABOUT

Restaurant & Lodging is published four times a year by Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA), 8565 SW Salish Lane, Suite 120, Wilsonville, Oregon, 97070, 503.682.4422, 800.462.0619.

To learn more about ORLA log on to OregonRLA.org.

PUBLISHER JASON BRANDT / PRESIDENT & CEO

JBrandt@OregonRLA.org LORI LITTLE / EDITOR

LLittle@OregonRLA.org HEIDI JANKE / DESIGN

HJanke@OregonRLA.org

MEMBERSHIP

To become a member of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, please contact Jennifer Starr at JStarr@OregonRLA.org or 503.682.4422.

ADVERTISING

Please support the advertisers herein; they have made this publication possible. For information on advertising opportunities, please contact ORLA: Marla McColly Director of Business Development at 503.428.8694 or MMcColly@OregonRLA.org

SUBSCRIPTIONS

To update your digital and print subscriptions to this publication and all ORLA communications visit OregonRLA.org.

2020-21 ORLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Masudur Khan, Chair, Seaside Lodging LLC John Barofsky, Vice Chair, La Perla and Beppe & Gianni’s Trattoria Shannon McMenamin, Secretary, McMenamins Harish Patel, Treasurer, Hampton Inn Dani Rosendahl, Immediate Past Chair, The Pit Stop Sports Bar & BBQ Grill Richard Boyles, Mereté Hotel Management Joe Buck, Babica Hen, Gubanc’s, Lola’s Don Crowe, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Mike Daley, Pollin Hotels ​Emma Dye, Crisp Treva Gambs, Gamberetti's Italian Restaurant Jim Hall, Independent Restaurant Concepts (IRC) Steven Johnson, Vip's Industries ​Eli Katkin, Brickroom​ Matt Lowe, Jordan Ramis Attorneys at Law Bobbie McDonald, Sysco Portland Patrick Nofield, Escape Lodging Company Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort Buggsi Patel, BHG Hotels Komal (Tina) Patel - Ex Officio Board Member, ALKO Hotels Katie Poppe, Blue Star Donuts ​Rick Takach, Vesta Hospitality Randy Xavier, US Foods

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SaltLine Hotel, Seaside PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALLOL PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF SALTLINE HOTEL

AUTUMN 2020 Technology COVER STORY 20 Pandemic Panacea?

Technology Helping Some

Businesses Survive COVID-19 ADVOCACY 8 Advocacy Update

State, Local, and Federal Activity

Pushes Forward OREGON HOSPITALITY FOUNDATION 14 Challenges and Response

A Family of Hardworking Winners

IN EVERY ISSUE 7 From the CEO

The Year Ahead at ORLA 44

Lodging Performance Report Hotel Benchmark Data

45 New Members Welcome!

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What Your Peers Are Saying Meet Some Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Members

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News Briefs Industry Happenings

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Cost-Saving Programs Member-Exclusive Benefits

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Looking Ahead ORLA Three-Month Calendar

INDUSTRY CHAMPIONS 16 Hospitality Helps

Restaurants Provide Meals for Those

in Need During the Pandemic

SOLUTIONS 28 COVID-19 and

“Smart Hospitality”

Using Technology to Make the Guest

Experience Better 30

It's OK to Ask for Help Crisis Services and Training Resources

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Hallmarks of a Data-Driven Business Six Ways Data-Driven Companies are Sating the Demand for More Intelligence

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5 Remote Work Best Practices Keeping Your Team Connected and Productive

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Let's Think Creative Together Exploring Online Ordering, Delivery, Reservations and Tableside Options for Self-Ordering

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Pivoting With the Industry OLCC Continues to Adjust to Help Hospitality Industry During the Pandemic

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It’s Your Business Coronavirus And Workers’ Compensation Claims

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ENROLLMENT OPEN YEAR-LONG PROGRAM

This course is designed for Oregon’s hospitality industry professionals with executive potential. Recruits will go beyond the walls of their businesses to gain in-depth experiences and knowledge that will elevate their passion and excitement for our state’s extraordinary offerings.

The program consists of four excursions to be completed in the year, with each excursion scheduled over three days.

TENTATIVE EXCURSIONS FOR CLASS OF 2021 INCLUDE Spring: Eastern Oregon Summer: Columbia Gorge Autumn: Mid Oregon Coast Winter: Portland

WHERE TO APPLY

Visit OregonRLA.org/OTLA to apply and be sure to visit the "Before You Apply" section for FAQs and criteria.

Participants who complete the courses and meet the standards set will be certified. This certification assures industry and consumers that the assessed individual has met or exceeded the standards set by the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA), Travel Oregon, Oregon’s Destination Management Organizations and a network of specialized facilitators.

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OregonRLA.org/OTLA

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

FROM THE CEO The Year Ahead at ORLA

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great deal is going on at the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association as we continue the fight on behalf of Oregon’s hospitality businesses. The association is strengthened by those we choose as leaders of ORLA’s respective boards, government affairs committee, and local alliances.

The Chair of the ORLA Board this fiscal year is Masudur Khan who has built an incredible portfolio of lodging properties along Oregon’s coastline in addition to a restaurant location in Depoe Bay. Amid some of the most challenging experiences we have ever faced as an industry, Masudur has successfully opened his latest property built from scratch in Seaside this past July. The next time you visit the coast make sure to stop by the SaltLine Hotel between the beach and the Seaside Civic & Convention Center.

Joining Masudur as new members of ORLA’s Executive Team are Shannon McMenamin of the McMenamin’s family of restaurant and lodging establishments as well as Harish Patel with lodging properties in Coos Bay and Pendleton. The hospitality industry in Oregon is diverse and showcases the value we place in people and their determination to build successful businesses contributing to local economies across the state.

We have more work to do and need to make more headway in building relationships and sharing opportunities for involvement amongst Black and Latino hospitality operators specifically.

ORLA is an organization available to all operators and led by industry leaders with vast life experiences. All who are fighting hard for the success of their hospitality business are welcome across the many leadership groups in place throughout the association.

Our industry has a tough road ahead on top of the marathon we have endured over the past seven months. Within a month we will have results defining our state legislature and our federal representation in Oregon, and on the heels of the election will be a six-month long legislative session of our state leaders. Through the leadership of ORLA’s Board of Directors, Government Affairs Committee, and Local Alliance Networks we must showcase the ground truth facing our industry and the opportunities for elected leaders to act beyond their words to help with industry recovery.

As we move through October and closer to 2021, make sure to visit OregonRLA.org for the latest information on the makeup of leadership teams and opportunities you have to make a difference. In November and December, the ORLA Board of Directors and Government Affairs Committee will be formalizing our 2021 Legislative Agenda based on feedback received directly from ORLA members. In addition, you can review ORLA’s Strategic Framework for all association activity on our website in the ‘About’ section.

As one operator has recently stated, ‘this too shall pass,’ and while we embrace the optimism that comes from focusing on a brighter future we will not rest on our laurels in taking advantage of opportunities within our control we can collectively impact. One opportunity to take seriously right now is to participate in the ORLA Listening Sessions recently launched by the association. These virtual meetings are a chance for operators to have the floor and legislators to listen so they can make the most informed choices when making policy decisions. Bring your voice to the table by engaging in one of these upcoming sessions by visiting the ‘Calendar’ section of the ORLA website.

We are here for you and it continues to be a pleasure to serve you. On behalf of the ORLA professional staff, thank you for the opportunity.  JASON BRANDT, PRESIDENT & CEO, ORLA Jason Brandt serves as the President & CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. He can be reached via email at JBrandt@oregonrla.org.

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ADVOCACY UPDATE State, Local, and Federal Activity Pushes Forward

AT THE STATE LEVEL Small Gain for ORLA in Special Session: Extended Unemployment Benefits The Oregon Legislature convened for its second special session of 2020 in just a single day on August 10. The focus of the session was primarily on budget and employment issues. Overall, lawmakers made up for a roughly $1 billion shortfall for the current biennium.

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In a bipartisan vote, lawmakers voted to: • Transfer $400 million from the Education Stability Fund to help stabilize the State School Fund, and • Cut approximately $362 million from the overall budget.

A handful of policy bills also passed, including two relating to unemployment benefits, one about capitol culture, and one further restricting police use of force. ORLA President and CEO Jason Brandt was one of only a few people allowed to testify before the Joint Committee on The Second Special Session of 2020 on SB 1701, dealing with unemployment benefits. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in both the Oregon House and Senate, provides unemployed individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits for weeks ending before January 1, 2022, who has earnings from less than full-time employment to earn the greater of $300 or one-third of the individual's weekly benefit amount before individual's weekly benefit amount is reduced. Briefly stated, it allows for employees to earn up to $300 per week before their unemployment benefit is reduced. Previously, employees could only earn ten times the minimum wage, approximately $132.50, before unemployment benefits were reduced.

Your government affairs team has been tirelessly advocating for to-go cocktails, limited and temporary liability protections for businesses, working to prevent a costly workers’ compensation presumption standard, and fighting against an unfair disconnect from federal tax code in the CARES Act which would withhold assistance from Oregon businesses. For updates on future special sessions and the latest government affairs intelligence, visit Oregonrla.org/2020agenda.

November Election and Ballot Measures ORLA encourages members to thoroughly read their Voters’ Pamphlet and do research to determine how they will be affected by local, regional and statewide ballot measures up for a vote this November. If you have any questions, please reach out to your government affairs team; you can email Astley@Oregonrla.org.

Government Affairs Committee Meetings ORLA’s Government Affairs Committee, led by co-chairs Nick Pearson, Jupiter Hotel and Jupiter Next and TJ Birkel, Darden Restaurants, have scheduled meetings for late September, early November and during ORLA’s Day at the Capitol in 2021 during the Legislative session. Dates and times will be emailed to members as well as posted on our website, visit Oregonrla.org/advocacy for more information. For now, meetings will be held virtually.

proposition, ORLA’s 2021 Legislative Agenda, approval of the 2021-22 ORLAPAC budget and engagement with state legislators and agency directors.

All ORLA members in good standing are invited to participate in these Government Affairs Committee meetings. Stay informed and stay engaged!

How Technology Mobilized Our Industry on Issues The playing field for advocacy is changing rapidly as our government institutions adjust to virtual meetings and improve opportunities for public comment. The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association has been using a new platform called Phone2Action made possible by the National Restaurant Association. Phone2Action is advocacy software that helps make it easy for our industry to engage on the issues that matter to them.

When someone texts a selected keyword and opts-in to receive text messages from us, we can send targeted messages based on location that can help people easily connect with their lawmaker in a few taps on their phone. In today’s social distanced world, it is just not possible to come down to Salem for a few hours to testify.

For our industry, this is a much easier way to participate and make your voice heard given the nature of our work on site at hospitality locations across the state.

The next time a disastrous bill comes up for a vote in the legislature, or a harmful ordinance is being discussed in your local jurisdiction, we can mobilize our signed-up advocates via text to email, Tweet, or call their lawmaker. We also can lend our support behind positive actions taken by policy makers. In addition to the campaigns, we send messages that can help you with compliance issues, alert you to important rulemaking, among other functions.

If you are interested in staying plugged in to the latest advocacy efforts, please text “ORLA” to 52886. Remember, it is important to opt-in to the text messages and fill out your information so you can get matched to the appropriate lawmaker. ORLA promises not to abuse the privilege of texting our members.

We encourage you to share this platform with your family, friends, guests, and others in the industry. There are also options to share on social media down at the bottom of each campaign sent out. The more voices we have telling the story of the hospitality industry, the more powerful the impact.

Upcoming topics for discussion include the new OLCC warehouse OregonRLA.ORG 9

AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL More Protections Needed from Congress The restaurant and lodging industry has been decimated by the COVID-19 health crisis. The industry is projected to lose billions this year and is in desperate need for more help from Congress to survive this pandemic. We were the first and hardest hit and will be among the last to recover. ORLA continues to support the work of the National Restaurant Association, Asian American Hotel Owners Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association in pushing priorities for the industry.

Here are a few updates on the federal front: • Congress was in stalemate for most of the summer after passing fixes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in June. The two chambers each presented their own solutions to the ongoing crisis in both the HEROES Act and the HEALS Act, but negotiations stalled out before the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

• Democratic leaders wanted a larger bill that would include funding for state and local governments for COVID-19 response.

Republicans, meanwhile, wanted liability protections for employers, schools, and healthcare providers and a limited $1 trillion in funding. Both parties however have been supportive of another round of PPP for businesses.

• The National Restaurant Association (NRA) unveiled their Blueprint for Restaurant Revival calling for either industryspecific funding or another round of PPP, among other asks like employee wellness tax credits and broadening access to restaurant meals for low-income Americans via SNAP. To learn more about NRA’s plan, where Congress is currently at, and how to take action, please visit RestaurantsAct.com.

• The American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association have been advocating hard for COVID-19 relief including tax incentives, liability protections, reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, Main Street Lending Facility, debt restructuring, and commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) loan relief.

Please join ORLA and continue supporting our national partners’ efforts in bringing much needed relief to our Oregon hospitality industry by responding to calls to action and survey requests.

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devastating downturn our industry has seen. In partnership with Josephine County lodging operators, we persuaded Josephine County to rethink their position on pursuing a local transient lodging tax to have further discussion and public engagement with the industry.

Already running on one of the lowest margins of any industry, restaurants have been hurt immensely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognizing this unique emergency, the City of Portland, following the lead of other cities around the country, decided to pass a temporary commission cap on third-party delivery fees. As a result of the emergency ordinance, these services cannot charge restaurants more than 10 percent if the third-party service delivers. If the restaurant delivers, the commission cap is five percent. It will remain in effect until 90 days after the expiration of the state’s emergency declaration.

Local Leadership Teams in Portland Engage Members on Critical Issues The Portland Lodging Alliance is now a formal chapter of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. In this new evolution, Portland lodging operators are hoping to reclaim the narrative of their city and put more pressure on local leaders to denounce violence in the streets of Portland. The Alliance supports the fight for racial justice wholeheartedly. It does not, however, condone the actions of anyone who uses protests as an excuse to be violent or commit criminal acts. Unwilling to let the downtown core decay, these businesses and their employees stepped up in a major way, hosting a SOLVE cleanup downtown called “Hospitality With Heart” in partnership with ORLA, Travel Portland, and the Portland Business Alliance with over 500 volunteers participating in early September.

AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ORLA Engagement / Outcomes in Local Activities Across the State Lincoln County lodging operators were disturbed to discover their local jurisdictions were implementing a mandated 24-hour cleaning hold in-between guests, despite there being no such guidance from the state or the CDC. With assistance from local operators, ORLA pressured local officials to eliminate this requirement. As a result, in many of the jurisdictions the requirement was removed or reduced, with the lone holdout being unincorporated Lincoln County. If you hear of similar measures being taken in other parts of Oregon, do not hesitate to reach out to ORLA for assistance.

Josephine County was looking to move forward with a brandnew transient lodging tax without industry input during the most 12

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The Portland Kitchen Cabinet continues its work to support a group of informed, active and motivated hospitality community members to serve as industry ambassadors with policymakers, opinion leaders, community leaders and partner organizations in Portland. As a group of restaurant operators in the Portland area, the Kitchen Cabinet is designed to build bridges and foster longterm relationships with local elected officials and the community.

With more than 180 members, the Portland Kitchen Cabinet is a proud partner of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association and the National Restaurant Association.

If you are a restaurant or lodging operator in the Portland area and would like to get involved in a leadership team, please contact us by emailing Astley@OregonRLA.org.  GREG ASTLEY & NICOLE PETERSON, OREGON RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSOCIATION

COVID-19 • PHASED REOPENING

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SHOW GUESTS YOUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND STOPPING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19

SAFETY POSTINGS

With industry input, ORLA has developed comprehensive Commitment to Safety checklists for both restaurant and lodging operations to serve as helpful guides to improve operational safety and stopping the spread of COVID-19. ​ embers who complete the checklist will recive a ​ M Commitment to Safety Seal window decal and digital graphic to prominently display for customers and employees.

Help amplify your commitment to safety with consumer-facing Safety Postings and Table Sanitation Cards.​ If your company is not currently a member but would like to earn a Commitment to Safety Seal and utilize these collaterals, contact your ORLA Regional Representative and learn more about the range of benefits that come with membership in your statewide association. Visit OregonRLA.org for more info.

TABLE SANITATION CARDS

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CHALLENGES AND RESPONSE A Family of Hardworking Winners

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."

– Amy Poehler, actress

• Creating opportunities to provide exceptional experiences despite challenges

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We are grateful for a grant from Travel Oregon, sponsorship from Dutch Bros Coffee and Epb&b insurance, and our partnership with Togather Restaurant Consulting and VPW Media for their project support. We expect the series to be released in early fall.

See release updates at OregonGuestServiceSafety.org.

any of us who have been around for a while refer to those in our industry as our “Hospitality Family.”

The more someone works around those who are committed to service, the more connected and inspired they themselves often become.

With the onset of the pandemic, never has the innovative spirit, business savvy, and caring soul of our ‘family’ been so challenged.

Our team at the Oregon Hospitality Foundation (OHF) and the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association see the daily struggles of our hospitality business partners and have been inspired by the innovative solutions launched in response. Encouraged by these efforts to address their business’ and community’s needs, we too have initiated proactive efforts in support.

FOUNDATION INITIATIVES In my last article, I mentioned that the foundation’s Board of Directors took steps to strengthen our organization, including: renaming ourselves the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, expanding our mission to support philanthropic projects, launching new fundraising programs, and creating new training support appropriate to current needs.

Takeout and A Movie Fundraiser Currently, we have raised and donated money to fourteen restaurants throughout the state who are providing a variety of solutions for helping feed those with food insecurity. Many of these restaurants are working to incorporate ongoing food support as part of their business model. Read more about these folks who are working hard to help change people’s lives by providing them with caring meals in our Champions article on page 16.

You can also see a press release summary at bit.ly/OHFhelpawards.

Additional awards are still available, see the application at OregonRLA.org/takeoutapp.

What’s happened since?

We also collaborated with Cycle Oregon and Filmed by Bike to present a film festival and Q&A that focused attention on the economic benefits of the hospitality and tourism industry to Oregon’s communities and now our industry’s own critical need for public support. A portion of the event’s proceeds were donated to the Cycle Oregon Fund, a grant program that supports projects including tourism and community projects particularly in rural areas.

NEW Training We have received requests for training assistance with the unique guest service and communication difficulties currently being experienced because of the pandemic. In response, we are creating an online series of easily digestible micro-sessions that share tips on how associates can provide positive service while still supporting safety protocols.

Education Top of mind for many families are the myriad of struggles encountered in coping with the new demands of virtual education for students, parents, teachers, and our entire education system.

We have been actively involved with discovering and creating resources for those who use our workforce training and Career & Technical Education (CTE) curriculum, such as ProStart.

The theme, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ focuses on helping prevent uncomfortable scenarios from escalating and causing unwelcome consequences by anticipating potential scenarios and practicing responses.

One example was our partnership with Rouxbe, an online culinary school for professionals, to provide their academic resources and videos to ProStart schools on a free trial basis and later for reduced fees. We are also seeking sponsorships and grant funding that will enable us to provide online and on-demand videos to support teachers’ virtual curriculum needs. The vision is to feature industry colleagues who will highlight various aspects such as job opportunities, facility tours, career pathways, customer service techniques, new safety protocols in place, and/or offer engaging skill-building demonstrations.

Topics include; • Combining advance communication with on-site techniques to explain safety requirements in order to set a positive tone and realistic guest expectations • Addressing guests’ safety concerns in advance and on-site to build confidence and repeat visits • Using empathy to address a guest’s noncompliance with mask and other safety protocols 14

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Additionally, we are collaborating with Chemeketa Community College, the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association, and the state’s

workforce boards to ensure that quality hospitality training is available and accessible online, particularly for entry-level and supervisory positions. The goal is to help employees ‘hit the ground running,’ in order to reduce onsite training time needed and offer immediate value to employers.

RESILIENCE I have yet to find the right words that portray my realistic recognition of the enormity of current challenges, particularly for our industry, nor my optimism that we will eventually recover.

However, no one knows how to work harder than our Hospitality Family, so maybe the quote below is appropriate and helps explain my optimism about the outcome of our efforts, together.

“As much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”

- Angela Duckworth, American academic, psychologist and popular science author

HOW YOU CAN HELP Unfortunately, looking toward the upcoming fiscal year, the foundation anticipates a 75 percent drop in revenue due to contract and sponsor funding reductions from affected partners.

Your in-kind and financial contributions are greatly appreciated so that we may sustain and continue our good work. You can donate today at bit.ly/OHFDonation. Thank you.  WENDY POPKIN, OREGON HOSPITALITY FOUNDATION

About

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, a nonprofit 501c3 dedicated to providing educational, training, and philanthropic support to Oregon’s restaurant, lodging, and tourism industry. Wendy is a 35-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.”

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HOSPITALITY HELPS Restaurants Provide Meals for Those in Need During the Pandemic

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efore the virus, we provided meals for the homeless community every week,” said Morgan George, owner of Northwest Pizza, “so now (with an Oregon Hospitality Foundation grant award) another $1,000 will go to the Walker School Backpack program. We’ll do as many meals as we can put out. My family comes in and helps with it all. Doing the right thing is doing the right thing, but I would do it with or without the grant.”

Morgan George, Northwest Pizza

Despite having to close to all but takeout in March due to the pandemic and per Governor Brown’s orders, many restaurants like Morgan’s jumped in to find ways to feed the suddenly growing numbers of people in their community who were suffering food insecurity because of job loss and other impacts from COVID-19.

These restaurants, or champions as we refer to them, provided inspiration to launch the Oregon Hospitality Foundation’s (OHF) Hospitality Help Fund (HospitalityHelpFund.org) in April, an initiative to provide philanthropic assistance to our industry partners.

Takeout & A Movie was the foundation’s first fundraising event with a quick launch on May 9th and featuring the local film Phoenix, Oregon. The goal was to raise money that could offer a double benefit: helping support both restaurants and individuals in need. A huge success, which was somewhat unanticipated, Takeout & A Movie has provided enough funds to support an estimated 11,500 meals!

OHF has been proud to award 14 grants thus far to restaurant partners throughout the state. Every recipient has chosen a slightly different focus for their own philanthropic target, ranging from foster families to “Feeding Black Portland” or providing meals to the unsheltered. They all have one thing in common–the desire to do the ‘right thing,’ as expressed by one grant recipient above, Morgan George.

The power of leading by example created a model that inspired amazing collaboration in Ashland by three of the city’s restaurants with various service agencies in their area.

Morgan not only donated meals to those in need, but he also bought gift cards from his fellow restaurant owners and offered 16

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them as a bonus to customers who bought pizza from his business.

He said he figured that they all had to stay strong together and that was one way that he could help, since he already knew how to offer pizza via takeout and his business was steady.

Sam Jackson, Falafel Republic

Sam Jackson, owner of Falafel Republic, was one restaurateur who benefitted from the actions of Morgan’s generous gesture. In an interview, Sam said Morgan inspired him to build a program that could also help feed residents in need. “It’s inspiring to see my restaurant community dig in and help, especially when you see they’ve been among the hardest hit,” said Jackson.

Sam shared that he could empathize with the physical and emotional toll people experienced when they were unsure where their next meal might come from as he, himself, often went to bed hungry as a child. He often told his children what a privilege it was that their family had the means to purchase food whenever needed; he felt it was important to instill the same responsibility in his kids to ensure that others around them had food too. So, Sam made charity meals a family affair and added “Pita with a Purpose” to his menu to help raise money to provide healthy meals, as well as gift cards, for Ashland’s children in need.

Neil Clooney, bird & rye

Neil Clooney was another Ashland restaurateur who leaped into action on March 18th thanks to his wife’s aunt who bought a $100 gift certificate from his restaurant, bird & rye, to help provide meals to the city’s unsheltered.

He wanted to continue that effort and launched “Chicken with a Cause” which ‘snowballed’ and helped him land a local grant to support his effort.

“We’re honored to be able to provide nourishing food to Ashland’s unsheltered community,” Neil says. “Feeding people good food… begins the process of healing people who have sometimes lived through unspeakable circumstances.” He adds, “Our restaurant partners probably don’t even realize how much these meals mean to

those that receive them. I’ve watched the magic happen week after week. Our goal is to be able to provide this service for a long time.”

Harbor Light Restaurant, Reedsport: Prepared fresh meals and desserts for families at the local food bank, Project Blessing.

We applaud all of our beneficiaries; they are true champions for their industry and communities. You can help support Champions like these, as well as the foundation’s continued ability to create programs like Takeout & A Movie, by donating to HospitalityHelpFund.org.

Restaurant O, Coos Bay: Created the Pay it Forward program to provide meals to homeless children, first responders and foster care families.

Hospitality Help Fund Grant Recipients to Date Read more at HospitalityHelpFund.org.

7 Devil’s Public House, Coos Bay: Created the Community Meal Program to provide family-sized take-and-bake meals to unemployed service industry workers, as well as comforting soup deliveries to the homeless community.

Bird + Rye, Ashland: Created the fundraising model, Chicken with a Cause, to provide meals to Ashland’s unsheltered population.

Botanist House, Portland: Created a new model to use ongoing donations to hire drivers and deliver 750 meals per day to unemployed service industry professionals.

Rudy’s Steakhouse, Salem: Created the Crisis Meals program to provide meals to first responders and unemployed workers.

Screamin’ Jays, Eugene: Partnered with Food for Lane Country to provide to the unhoused community.

Toro Bravo Restaurant Group, Portland: Created the Feed it Forward PDX program to feed the homeless community at P:ear, Rose Haven, and New Avenues for Youth. They also provided free food bags for anyone in need and a sliding scale pay structure for meals to healthcare workers on the frontline.

Funds are still available for eligible restaurants providing meals to those in need. See more at OregonRLA.org/takeoutapp.  WENDY POPKIN, OREGON HOSPITALITY FOUNDATION

Celilo Restaurant, Hood River: Prepared meal kits twice a week for foodservice industry workers, essential workers, and foodinsecure families.

Everybody Eats, Portland: Pivoted the catering company to provide meals to Don’t Shoot Portland and Portland area shelters.

Falafel Republic, Ashland: Created the “Pita with a Purpose” program to provide healthy meals for essential workers, foodinsecure families, first responders and school food programs.

Kee’s Loaded Kitchen, Portland: Provided six-course homecooked meals for free to low income and homeless Black community residents, BLM protesters and supporters.

Northwest Pizza, Ashland: Provided meals for the homeless community every week, as well as donated over $1,000 worth of gift cards to food-insecure school families.

Portland Mercado and Clackamas Women’s Services, Portland, and Oregon City: The Mercado Meals partnership between the Hacienda’s Mercado Empresarios and Clackamas Women’s Services feeds domestic and sexual violence survivors sheltered in alternative housing during the pandemic.

Screamin' Jay's Hot Lunch, Eugene

About

Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, a nonprofit 501c3 dedicated to providing educational, training, and philanthropic support to Oregon’s restaurant, lodging, and tourism industry. Wendy is a 35-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.”

OregonHospitalityFoundation.org

OregonRLA.ORG 17

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

ORLA Live! – Virtual Conference November 9-10, 2020

Connect with your peers and get solutions for today's challenges!

Immerse yourself and the leaders on your team in two days of illuminating keynote speakers, industry panels, vendor exhibits, and networking opportunities. Our online platform allows you to join in live discussion, or watch sessions on your own time.

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE: • Future of our Industry • Diversity and Inclusion • Lodging Data and Trends • Restaurant Realities • Local, State and Federal Elections

REGISTER YOURSELF AND YOUR TEAM TODAY!

Special thanks to our sponsors for supporting our industry and making this event possible.

• Garth T. Rouse & Associates • McDonald Wholesale • Curtis Restaurant Equipment • Energy Trust of Oregon; Existing Buildings • POSitive Technologies • Jordan Ramis PC

OregonRLA.org/ORLALive OregonRLA.ORG 19

Pandemic Panacea?

SaltLine Hotel App PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALLOL PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF SALTLINE HOTEL

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Technology Helping Some Businesses Survive COVID-19

W

hen Seaside Lodging LLC owner Masudur Khan broke ground on Seaside’s new SaltLine Hotel in September 2019, the 20-year industry veteran never envisioned the tumultuous times ahead. With the building’s bones rising from a foundation poured months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly shook the world, and with it, rocked Oregon’s restaurant and lodging industry. Khan’s plans to open his boutique hotel for the summer crowds were suddenly in jeopardy.

Komilova, sales manager for Seaside Lodging, Taslema Sultana (co-owner), and brand designer Meagan Geer collaborated online. “We had to share a screen in Zoom, open the layout, then literally just sit and visualize: ‘Here is how the room is going to look,’” says Komilova. The group planned the guest rooms in real-time, adjusting for maximum feng shui along the way.

Khan met with contractor and fellow ORLA member S.D. Deacon to discuss the ramifications and a way forward. “I said, ‘We have no control over it,’” as he recalls the conversation. ‘We just need to find a way to work around it. If we find out option A doesn’t work, we will look at option B, C, D, or E, and sometimes, we had to go to option E.”

Moving furniture virtually wasn’t the only challenge they faced. The management team had to train the incoming staff members online. Over the course of a week, core employees went online every day for 3-5 hours to learn Seaside Lodging’s procedures, best practices, and requirements for their jobs. “At least we have a back-up now,” sighs Masudur. “We can do everything we want to do online.

We created a whole operation. We did that because we were able to change with the technology.”

“E” as in electronic. “This gave us an opportunity to see how we could use technology,” points out Khan. “We have Zoom, Google, and GoToMeeting.”

Regular online sessions replaced the traditional OAC (Owner/Architect/ Contractor) meetings that used to bring large groups of team members together face-to-face. “We emailed everything so that people had a chance to look at it before we shared screens,” he explains.

“It maximized the utilization of time.”

When there was no other way around it, Khan met with a few of the principle team members onsite, wearing masks and “business distancing” to keep things safe.

The pandemic also led Khan and his team to research and incorporate technology that would make the SaltLine a safer place for employees and their guests.

“We changed some of the strategy that we weren’t planning to do in the original design,” he shares. “For example, we have mobile check-in. You don’t even have to touch a key. You can check in from your mobile at the front desk, then you go to your room and open the door with the mobile. That is technology that we brought in because of the pandemic. It gives a huge benefit to the guest, feeling that they’re safer. They aren’t touching so many things.”

When it came time to put the finishing touches on the SaltLine, the team had to think outside the box yet again. Munisa

Masudur Khan and Munisa Komilova, SaltLine Hotel, Seaside PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALLOL PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF SALTLINE HOTEL

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At the Best Little Roadhouse in Salem, adjusting to the strange “new normal” has required Owner Jennifer Moretz to explore new ways to deliver their trademark casual dining experience to guests. Leveraging existing online communications platforms has been key to connecting with cautious customers. “Technology is something that has helped and will continue to help us get through this pandemic,” says Moretz.

“We have become much more dependent on social media. Our local Chamber facilitated a Facebook Salem Eats that sincerely helped not only our restaurant, but many restaurants in our area. They helped get the word out on our hours, offering take-out and delivery and food options.”

Without the creative application of technology, it’s hard to imagine how traditionally high-touch businesses like wineries could weather a harsh “new normal” that strictly forbids crowded tasting rooms let alone clinking glasses.

“We closed our campus on March 20th, three days after it was announced that those in hospitality would remain closed indefinitely,” remembers Natasha Skov, the operations and general manager at Sunshine Mill in The Dalles. Survival depended on regrouping and rethinking how to deliver value with a new low-touch model.

Staying afloat in times when many hospitality businesses are sinking, takes a technically savvy support network.

“Technology has been key for us to communicate, whether it be internally or with the public,” stresses Anthony Muirhead, general manager at the Adobe Resort and Restaurant in Yachats. “The best example would be the effort our local city government has done about using Zoom to make themselves available. They have shown a desire to learn about our processes and our struggles. This has been a great help where we have seen some positive adjustments to restrictions because they are making informed decisions.”

Once the first wave of travel restrictions were lifted, hoteliers like Muirhead and Escape Lodging’s Shaun Wagner had to quickly adapt to and comply with new safety regulations. For Wagner and Escape’s executive leadership team, that meant changing the company’s strategy and diving deeper into digital.

“Technology is being used to help inform and educate our guests and promote our new environment that we’re in,” explains Wagner, vice president of operations. “It’s really the tool that we tend to funnel a lot of the questions and resources to our guests to make sure it’s available for them to understand the new environment.”

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According to Skov, the drive-in idea was born from a need to entertain the community and offer a sense of normalcy during a time that has been stressful on everyone. “We have been doing free outdoor movies for the past seven summers, so we had the equipment and experience to get this going immediately,” she shares. Of course no summer has been quite like 2020, after everything changed in what seems like an instant. “We have made huge changes to the screen – it's now permanently mounted and four times the size of the original one – and have upgraded the projector to be brighter and sharper,” points out Skov. “We spoke with a projector company about ratios for our screen (it's not a traditional widescreen since most classic movies are in a 4:3 ratio) and the proper foot-lambert calculations (measurements of the luminance of images on a projection screen). We had to become experts if we were going to make this into something we continued after the pandemic, and that's what we plan on doing!”

Even a freak 15-minute storm that blew through the gorge and turned the big screen into a makeshift sail couldn’t stop Sunshine Mill from catering to its fans.

Staff were able to locate a local crane operator who rescued the winery and its movie-goers by re-attaching the screen just in time for its biggest summer showing.

“Luckily it was one bent hook that we had to replace!” she laughs.

Natasha Skov The Sunshine Mill, The Dalles PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE SUNSHINE MILL

“We had two ideas: virtual tastings and drive-in movies,” says Skov. “We decided to move forward with both. We have the unique technology that allows us to seal two ounces of wine in a wine glass that stays fresh for two months, so we began mailing out custom tasting kits to people across Oregon and ran Zoom tastings with them. They were a huge success until we reopened and got a lot of press.”

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

Rapidly climbing the learning curve has already paid serious dividends at the box office. “We just finished the screening of the Oregon Short Film Festival, a four-night film festival that took place at our drive-in,” mentions Skov. “It was so successful that the people putting on the event booked eight more nights in October for a comedy and horror film festival.” Of course, movie tickets are sold virtually through Eventbrite, and guests place printed or mobile “stubs” in their windshields, enabling no-contact admittance.

Drive-Up Movies at The Mill, The Sunshine Mill, The Dalles PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE SUNSHINE MILL

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Adobe Resort App, The Adobe Resort Yachats PHOTO BY HEIDI JANKE

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

Shaun Wagner PHOTO COURTESY OF ESCAPE LODGING

Housecleaning isn’t as sexy as “cabs,” “chards,” and movie stars in high def, but getting it right using new procedures and tools is a top priority for lodging operators. “Housecleaning has changed tremendously,” says Wagner. “How they go in and treat a room is different. Some of our properties use electrostatic sprayers.”

This innovative equipment sprays an electrostatically charged mist (sanitizing agent) onto surfaces and objects, disinfecting the covered surfaces. “It makes the room safe for our employees,” he continues. “Then they can come in and strip out the dirty linen and the garbage and make sure that everything is kept separate, so we don’t cross contaminate.”

The meticulous step-by-step process concludes with a room inspection to ensure everything is safe for the next visitor.

Lodging operators have had to “clean house” in other ways, including abandoning practices that were the norm until March 2020. For Muirhead, those changes have included removing hardcopy directories from all of the resort’s rooms. “The Adobe, with the help of HospitalityVision, now has an app so we can communicate our offerings to our in-house guests,” he notes. “They have a resource in their hand for 24-hour assistance, like you would get from a concierge. The app also is an advertising tool for small events at our property in the future.”

Apps (of the application rather than appetizer variety) are also satisfying restaurateurs’ growing appetite for technology that helps keep their kitchens busy. “We have implemented an online ordering system developed through ChowNow,” reports Moretz. “In the past, we hadn’t wanted to do a delivery service because of the fees involved with the services. ChowNow charges a flat monthly rate and credit card processing fees only.

The online ordering is available through our Facebook page and website. You can

also order through Google.” Although the open-minded restaurateur isn’t sure online ordering has led to an appreciable increase in sales, she believes the app has made it easier by allowing her guests to order online, rather than place a phone call.

Technology may not provide the perfect solution for keeping your doors open, but choose to ignore it completely, and you might end up turning off the old neon “open” sign permanently. “I believe at this point, if we don’t stay current with technology, it will be detrimental to our business,” states Moretz. “With the current generation being forced to do online school and use technology to be educated, we have to stay up with technology. When you don’t go to a conference in person, but virtually, do video chat with your family instead of seeing them, you order your groceries through an app, it is obvious that technology will be in our lives going forward. The world changed quicker than any of us imagined these last six months.

People are relying on technology even more in their everyday lives than ever before. Our previous view of technology and not staying current has to change going forward, we must stay current and look at new trends and ideas in the tech world to stay present and relevant in today’s world.”

What’s possible today can change in a blink of innovation tomorrow. “This is not going to go away anytime soon,

and utilizing technology is going to be more prominent in some ways,” predicts Wagner. “I think that people’s patterns will change a little bit. They’re used to getting information for themselves online and ordering food online. Our human nature is we adapt and change, and I think that these things will stay with us to some degree.

“You look at our young generation using Xbox and Netflix and everything, and it’s all becoming just standard these days.

What will it look like five or ten years from now? Will it be a virtual reality? A virtual butler for you? It’s only going to keep advancing.”

The current crisis has acted as a wake-up call for many in the industry, alerting them to just how much they may need to evolve to thrive moving forward. Muirhead knows that it will take more than replacing coffee table books with digital guides to operate a profitable business from now on.

“I think in many ways, the need to adapt and catch up for smaller independent properties, like the Adobe, will be the challenge ahead for many of us,” he says.

“The pandemic is everyone’s focus today of course, as it should be, but our industry is changing permanently. The things we are learning today can also be applied towards staffing and labor cost problems in the future.”

OregonRLA.ORG 25

SaltLine Hotel PHOTOGRAPHY BY KALLOL PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF SALTLINE HOTEL

Back in July, the stylish SaltLine Hotel opened to travel-starved guests, just three weeks later than a target date planned pre-pandemic. Khan realizes that the stars had to align just so to make that happen in these unprecedented times. “We are lucky that it’s not 100 years ago before the technology was there,” he muses. “We had a lot of technology to make it happen. Otherwise, I think it wouldn’t have been possible.” Instead, it forever changed the way his company will do business.

“The combination of technology and meeting the traditional way helped to improve the efficiency of the project,” reflects Khan, who has found a silver lining in the process. “We learned a lesson on how to use the technology and not to go back to the traditional way.

Even if everything goes back to normal, people get used to the technology, and they keep using it.”

Zoom meetings, customer-friendly apps and luminescent video projectors may not prove to be panaceas for the current pandemic, but Oregon’s restaurant and lodging operators are thankful to have innovative options to pair with traditional hospitality.

And technology offers a ray of hope for tomorrow.  KIRK RICHARDSON

About

Kirk Richardson is author of Craft Beer Country: In Search of the Best Breweries from the South Pacific to the Pacific Coast. Since 2006, Kirk has written more than 100 articles for ORLA magazines, including several on Oregon beer, wine, and spirits.

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

COME SEE ALEX ON THE

COOKING STAGE! FOOD NETWORK STAR presented by

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

ASK THE EXPERTS! Attendees can schedule FREE one-onone time with leading experts in the food service industry to get answers on a range of subjects.

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PITCH THE DISTRIBUTOR • EMERGING PRODUCTS Come see selected applicants get the opportunity to take the • TASTING PAVILION stage in front of the audience and decision-makers at McDonald Wholesale–Shark Tank style!

• INDUSTRY NIGHT OUT

APRIL 18-19, 2021

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A Special Thanks To Our Sponsors Brought To You By

OregonRLA.ORG 27

COVID-19 AND “SMART HOSPITALITY” Using Technology to Make the Guest Experience Better

T

he emergence of COVID-19 has accentuated the need for safe, contactless digital transactions and communication, most notably in the hospitality industry. This destined trend has been accelerated by the virus, generating an immediate need to implement more “stay smart” technologies to adapt to this fast-changing environment. This development presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how to maintain the welcoming warmth of personal attention and a positive guest experience, while offering the most efficient, remote technology.

For the past several years, millennials have been the focus of the hotel industry, but now it is time to turn our focus to Generation Z and embrace the new trends in technology that they take for granted. Members of Generation Z were born into our world of technology. They prefer to communicate via messaging and texts and expect equally swift responses to their searches and requests for information. When surveyed, 40 percent of Generation Z hotel guests identified a working internet connection as a greater necessity than a working bathroom. Generation Z’s influence now extends to all of today’s consumers, including millennials and even Boomers.

We all expect information to be available at a touch of a button.

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

Fortunately, our hotel guests are already familiar with many self-service and current online technologies: booking hotel rooms online, making travel reservations, scanning restaurant menus online, communicating virtually, and making online purchases.

Our daily life, and its transactions, can now happen without the added layer of personal interaction.

Our goal in hospitality is to make these contactless, impersonal transactions as personal and enjoyable as possible, thus continuing to build the valuable relationships between the hotel and guest.

Each of us must also differentiate our unique services and the experience we offer from our competitors. Using “smart” technology made necessary by COVID-19 safety measures, we can make the guest experience better.

Here are just a few of the top technologies, briefly described, to consider for your hotel: Hotel Guest App: Monthly time spent in mobile apps grew 40 percent over last year in Q2 2020, reaching a monthly, alltime high of over 200 billion person-hours during the month of April 2020. Hospitality guests are eager to use a custom, branded

hotel app to book their stay, order food, discover local, “behind the scenes” attractions and fresh air hikes, and immediately communicate any needs to the front desk. Push notifications on the apps can keep guests updated about the property.

Gone are the days of the outdated, unsanitary and hard to maintain print guest services directory as a guest’s sole source of information.

For less than the cost of a print directory, your hotel can start with an app that offers “the basics,” and can be customized to include special features in your property and in the community.

TV Guest Directory: Every room has a TV so why not put it to work and stream information about your hotel 24/7? This innovation allows you to stream the weather and other frequently sought information. This service also provides a video from the hotel general manager to greet guests and describe hotel cleaning/ safety procedures to make guests feel safe and welcome. Many in-house channels offer uplifting programming like a virtual sunrise, or virtual tours of local museums and attractions that may be temporarily closed for health and safety reasons. With many fitness centers closed, hotels can broadcast quick, in-room exercise videos.

Chatbots: Chatbots and similar online widgets are now the standard when using an app or visiting websites. Chatbots can be used in the hotel industry to answer questions about amenities, building brand recognition and loyalty. A hotel can develop its own “branded,” personal chatbot character to further personalize a guest’s experience. Chatbots help market hotel products and services.

Virtual Reality “VR”: VR helps hotels showcase the property and amenities through virtual 3D presentations and immersive video tours available on a hotel’s website.

Augmented Reality “AR”: Augmented Reality enhances the real-world environment in real-time. The technology can be implemented through smartphones, tablet devices or headsets. AR introduces digital experiences into reality, rather than replacing the reality itself, by providing additional information about a live environment. AR can add physical graphics to an environment when viewed through a device, alter the appearance of the environment itself, or make the environment more interactive.

Guests can use their hotel app and point their phones at a QR code to bring up an interactive map of the property or fun, historic information about a property feature or landmark.

Mobile Room Keys: Today, more and more hotels are offering guests room access on their mobile devices. This eliminates costs for printing environmentally harmful, plastic keycards while removing the hassle of managing keycard inventory that is prone

to loss and demagnetization. As this technology becomes more refined and reliable, we expect it to start gaining wider use.

Robots: As hospitality technology becomes cheaper to implement, robots are being employed by hotels to greet guests, perform housekeeping functions, provide room service, wait tables, and even carry luggage.

Big Data: Big Data helps hotels identify industry trends and patterns. Larger hotels can use big data to develop revenue management strategies and implement targeted sales and marketing tactics to attract new guests and personalize each guest’s experience. Your hotel gathers this data from your bookings and combined online sources.

Direct Reservations: 87 percent of travelers will visit a hotel website before booking. Today’s travelers want immediate information and to experience the property before deciding. Be sure your website has rich visual content, clear instant package offers, and a quick, easy to use booking engine. A property’s website should offer video tours and the ability for the visitor to download a guest app if they like to “carry your property” with them 24/7.

That enables them to receive messages about special offers and new, locally-tailored packages and to repeat book using the app.

Lodging operators can use the “new normal” imposed by COVID-19 to implement and embrace creative ways to provide welcoming hospitality, generating demand for your hotel as opposed to just selling what you have. By using smart technologies, operators can improve “safe” hotel guest interactions and make it easy for them to complete transactions, from booking to messaging, to getting a cocktail or a delicious meal delivered to their room. Opportunities are available to provide rich, uplifting, and even quirky information about your property and showcase each unique communities’ “fresh air” attractions. Now’s the time to rise to the challenge and welcome guests with “smart hospitality.”  MARTI STAPRANS BARLOW, HOSPITALITYVISION About

Marti Staprans Barlow is president of HospitalityVision, a womanowned tech company that provides hotels with mobile concierge apps including augmented reality experiences, messaging, custom 3-D chatbots, and virtual tours integrated into app along with TV guest directories to hotels, BnBs, and retirement homes nationwide. She is the creator of Concierge ToGo®, EZ -Chat® hotel messaging system, BnB ToGo®, Pillow Talk® Pillow Delivery Service, Sweet Talk® Dessert Delivery and an exciting new Book By Your Bedside program with a local book retailer. Hospitalityvision.net SOURCES: Pew Research Center, “Defining Generation. Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins."

OregonRLA.ORG 29

IT'S OK TO ASK FOR HELP Crisis Services and Training Resources Available

L

ike any other industry, Oregon's restaurants and hotels are not immune to mental health challenges or substance abuse issues. Our hospitality industry places a high priority on the health and well-being of its employees, and we want to ensure resources and information are readily available to industry members. ORLA's website lists several resources as well as training information to aid in prevention. Below are a few critical resources listed on the page; see more at OregonRLA.org/crisis.

Crisis Text Line Text HELLO to 741741 for free immediate help and connect with a Crisis Coordinator.

How to Find a State-Funded Rehabilitation Center For individuals or loved ones struggling with drug or alcohol addiction who have limited resources to pay for treatment.

AmericanAddictionCenters.org/rehab-guide/state-funded Substance Use Disorder Helpline Call for free immediate help anytime, talk with a licensed recovery advocate about concerns and needs, and get a referral to a professional who can develop a personalized treatment

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

plan and access family support resources. Call 1-855-780-5955.

Liveandworkwell.com/recovery National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to 741741 to be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, 24/7.

LivingWorks Training to learn valuable skills to be able to have life-saving conversations with people who may be thinking of suicide.

Discounted through October to support communities during COVID-19. Shopusa.livingworks.net/products/livingworks-start National Sexual Assault Hot Line 800-656-HOPE (4673) Rainn.org The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) is part of a strategic alliance program, the Hospitality Associations Alliance, that helps address the diverse needs of the hospitality industry.

Created by the National Restaurant Association and UnitedHealth Group, the alliance offers exclusive discounts and solutions that

benefit ORLA members and their employees while supporting the health and wellness in the hospitality industry.

Learn more about the mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention resources available from UnitedHealth Group including: Sanvello App for stress, anxiety and depression. Includes guided meditation, learning modules, community discussion and daily tips. App store Ben’s Friends Free hospitality-focused substance abuse support network. Join a safe environment with others who understand the unique challenges experienced by people on the front lines in restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality industries. Live meetings daily.

BensFriendsHope.com Telemedicine Mental health and medical visits; low members-only cost and employers may subscribe for all working and furloughed employees. Teladoc offers unlimited, no-copay mental health and medical virtual appointments via their app and website to National Restaurant Association members for $7 per employee, per month; includes unlimited visits for the employee and entire family. Restauranthealthcare.org/MoreBenefits/Telemedicine Active Minds Resources to stay mentally healthy during this crisis time.

Access a free resources hub for help during the COVID-19 pandemic, including stress management, community building from a distance, and tips for remote workers. Activeminds.org PatientsLikeMe Access a community for anyone concerned about symptoms and/ or diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as anyone suffering from anxiety and depression, to come together and discuss coping mechanisms and support. Hospitality specific landing page and resources available here. Patientslikeme.com For more information on the Hospitality Associations Alliance program and its exclusive member offerings, visit OregonRLA.org/healthsolutions or contact Alliah Sheta at Alliah.sheta@optum.com.  OREGON RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSOCIAITON

Learn life-saving skills anywhere with LivingWorks Start As we respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, many people are experiencing increased isolation, losses, and anxiety.

Now more than ever, we need effective suicide prevention skills.

Li fe

That’s where LivingWorks Start comes in. In as little as one hour online, this interactive training program will give you the skills and knowledge to keep family, friends, co-workers, and others safe from suicide.

To support the need for skills training in this difficult time, we’ve significantly lowered the price of LivingWorks Start and are donating 25% of the proceeds to COVID-19 relief efforts.

How LivingWorks Start can help you: • • • • •

Become more comfortable talking about suicide Keep a loved one safe in times of distress Support friends and co-workers Build professional skills Have peace of mind knowing you’re ready to help

Learn life-saving skills today at www.livingwo start@livingworks.net to bring these skills to yo

You don’t have to be in the same room to save someone’s life.

During these challenging times, more people are struggling with thoughts of suicide. LivingWorks Start provides life-saving skills to keep them safe in just 90 minutes online.

Visit www.OregonRLA.org → Resources → Crisis Services & Training and search for “LivingWorks,” or learn more at www.livingworks.net OregonRLA.ORG 31

HALLMARKS OF A DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS Six Ways Data-Driven Companies are Sating the Demand for More Intelligence

D

espite broad recognition of the value of data, organizations are drowning in a deluge of data, finding it hard to manage their data and extract valuable insights from it.

Drinking hot water and lemon feels very virtuous. It’s a cleansing, detoxifying drink.

But not many people use the peel; and yet it’s packed with nutrients. It’s good for your bones, heart, immune and digestive systems. By doing a quick squeeze and tossing out the peel, you’re depriving yourself of its many benefits.

The same applies to data. Data’s potential to unlock new insights and opportunities is motivating organizations to shed their old ways of thinking and adopt a new mindset inclined to spearhead innovation and create engaging customer experiences. This metamorphosis goes to the heart of a digital business and is intrinsic in all they do. It is digital transformation incarnate.

Yet, many businesses are only discovering and squeezing insights from a fraction of their data.

Most of their data is being wasted. Even worse, the data that they do manage to collect, store and archive is ‘dark data’- data that’s not actually used to drive a business outcome. Despite broad recognition of the value of data, organizations are drowning in a deluge of data, finding it hard to locate all their data, extract it from different sources and silos, and manage access to the right people. Without the right data, these companies are losing out on revenue opportunities due to missed sales opportunities, lost customers, inefficient supply chains and uninformed strategic decisions.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there’s a swell of businesses on the other end of the spectrum that are putting data to work.

We’re not just talking about understanding customer buying habits to sell targeted ads.

Data’s potential reach and influence extends well beyond that. Data-driven companies are sating the demand for more intelligence by doing the following:

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

1. Taking Data Real-Time Data-driven businesses are harnessing real-time insights from unstructured, semi-structured and streaming data to power increasingly sophisticated data-driven use cases at scale.

They’re rethinking their data management strategy in line with the exponential increase in the volume, velocity and variety of data. For instance, they’re shifting their data pipelines as they shift their analytics from post-process analysis to real-time.

And they’re augmenting their data by infusing these pipelines with disruptive artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities, so their data can now comprehend, act and learn.

2. Empowering Data Scientists These companies are empowering their data scientists by providing the tools and training they need to spend their time doing higher value, skilled analytical work rather than operational tasks. Some of this training may relate to being able to speak in a business vernacular and to the company’s primary commercial drivers, so they can grab the attention of senior decision-makers.

Crucially data-driven companies recognize that it takes a village to empower data scientists to harvest data that will propel their organization forward. It’s a company-wide effort. If data is now the lifeblood of their organization, everyone has a part to play – whether that means being part of a scrum team or bridging the gap between the data and the business problem in a product manager role.

3. Sharing Data Beyond Their Four Walls Data-driven businesses are actively enlisting and equipping a far wider base of users – across their organization – to access, share and derive value from data.

Some are putting unfettered innovation above proprietary concerns and making their data open-source, to encourage the free distribution and creation of net new data-driven products and services. These organizations acknowledge that the force multiplying nature of data can’t be unleashed unless access is democratized across the company and their people can self-serve.

4. Focusing on Flow These businesses are adopting data management platforms that span data-oriented roles from data scientists to IT operations, so each component part can work together to make data easier to discover, share, enrich, and activate.

Recognizing that data is on the move and needs to reach the whole organization, they’re setting-up data pipelines that deliver incredible flexibility without sacrificing impeccable

data assurances. By creating these data flows, data scientists are breaking down silos and applying well-rounded, well-traveled data to specific business problems.

5. Being Trustworthy and Transparent Data governance, data sovereignty, and data compliance are complex, constantly evolving concerns. Data-driven organizations strive to keep abreast of changing guidance and have a keen understanding of their data’s context. Being trustworthy and transparent are their guiding principles. They’re always exploring how to safely monetize their data within these parameters. They know how – or have the software that guides and automates how different data should be used or referenced in reports – to avoid potential data privacy violations. They don’t just prioritize the proper handling of data, they’re also acutely aware of the public’s expectation of privacy. With this enshrined, they go above and beyond government regulations such as GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act. 6. Foraging for Anomalies These companies are constantly looking deeper into the stack to re-examine the performance layer and fundamentally rearchitect how to process and better utilize the data they have, as they seek out anomaly data from unlabeled data sets.

While anomalous data can indicate critical incidents, such as a technical glitch or a change in consumer behavior – they’re rarer to find. However, progressive data companies are now deploying ML to automate anomaly detection. In short, they never settle with what they know.

One Step at a Time These hallmarks or attributes require a highly effective, datadriven culture supported by modern tooling to foster fluid innovation. Many businesses are excelling in some areas, but few are doing all of these well. In some respects, the acceleration of data and processing gains is creating a scissor effect. Companies with traditional mindsets and manual processes will fall woefully behind – while those with ready access to data scientists and compute resources will reap a rich harvest.

While this might be a modern update of history-old market forces, it runs counter to our belief that technology is a great leveler. In reality, no business should feel excluded or overwhelmed. Small incremental changes can make a significant, positive impact. With the right interventions over time, any business can become a data anywhere, data anytime enterprise.  MATT BAKER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY AND PLANNING, DELL TECHNOLOGIES

OregonRLA.ORG 33

SAFETY SHOWCASE Program

Show your community and future customers your increased safety measures and put their mind at ease with a custom video walkthrough or photo slideshow.

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A full-featured restaurant app at an affordable price. Customers no longer need to go through a third party website such as Yelp, Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats to find you. Instead, your business will be on their phone. A tap on the app will take them directly to your business, browse your menu and place orders at anytime from anywhere.

34

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

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5 REMOTE WORK BEST PRACTICES Keeping Your Team Connected and Productive

M

ore than ever we are living in a climate where remote workplaces are largely becoming the norm for a variety of workers.

In recognizing this shift, it’s important to also recognize the changes that come with working remotely. We’ve outlined five best practices for remote workplaces to ensure your team stays motivated, connected, and productive.

1. Equal Access Remote work is not always something that is readily accessible to everyone.

It’s imperative that your employees have the resources necessary to work from wherever they reside outside of the office.

This means providing technology such as a company laptop, printer, and any other supplies they may need to complete their work outside of the office. Many companies are paying for their employees’ desks and chairs, along with a WiFi and phone stipend. It’s also important to make sure that all employees have their relevant remote accesses set up, allowing them to connect to secure company systems even when away from the office.

These accommodations require close communication between managers and employees to ensure their home office needs are met and they can perform with equal competence even from their own residence.

2. Remote Meeting Etiquette In-person office meetings allowed for easy recognition of unfocused or preoccupied participants. This shift into remote working has also changed how meetings look in a quite drastic way. Meetings are now held virtually via a variety of meeting platforms. While there are some great features that come along with these remote working platforms, it is more difficult to maintain engagement in meetings. The number one tip to maintain meeting engagement is to turn on that camera. It’s easier for people to tune out on audio calls, while video calls inherently hold employees

to a higher accountability when everyone can see what they’re doing during the meeting. This also allows for people to read body language to communicate better and establish a better sense of trust when they can see faces. Taking time to engage in active listening such as writing down notes and nodding, allows your peers to know that you’re engaged and listening to what they’re saying.

3. Communicate Often Effective communication can’t just be a checkbox on your to-do list. This needs to happen constantly and consistently. There can’t be an expectation to communicate with your team once and be done with things because proper communication requires follow-ups, persistency, and honest conversations. Consider communicating with your team up to three times as much as you normally would if you were working in a normal office setting. This shows that you, as a manager, are earnestly working to keep the lines of communication open for everyone in your team. Some great remote work communication practices include scheduling team check-ins (and individual check-ins, if possible) 2-3 times a week, keeping calls on-schedule, and limiting the cancellation of team check-in calls.

4. Work/Life Boundaries Working remotely tends to blur the boundaries of work and life. It’s vital to

make sure everyone sets up and sticks to their boundaries. One technique is called unplugging, where you set a firm start and finish time to your workday, not working beyond those hours. It’s important to make people aware of your boundaries to help hold you accountable to sticking to them.

Sometimes it becomes too tempting to sit down at your laptop and work through the whole day and night, not leaving any separation between work and personal time. Unplugging entails physically leaving your laptop in your designated workspace and not turning it back on past your designated shut off time, not reading and responding to work emails on your phone past your unplug time, and maintaining that designated workspace where you can leave your work at the end of the day. If this is not possible due to space constraints, turning off your work laptop and/or work phone is a great alternative to officially unplug for the day. Don’t let your employees, peers, and yourself become burnt out due to lack of work/life boundaries.

5. Recreate the Water Cooler Effect When working in an office setting was the norm, there tended to be a place in the office where employees gathered to talk.

Now that we have evolved to a hybrid or entirely remote workplace, there is no longer this physical ‘water cooler’ effect.

You can create a virtual space by using a messaging or chat application and creating a channel for random or casual conversation within employees. Too often a feeling of isolation kicks in when office chit chat and social interactions are missing in remote workplaces. This can help maintain a vibrant office culture and comradery, despite working far apart from each other. Make sure you do set some guidelines about appropriate language and behavior in this messaging channel. It’s important to still have some fun with it!  ZOE STANLEY, HR ANNIE CONSULTING

OregonRLA.ORG 35

Hospitality Focused Workforce Management Solutions

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36

24432_EnergyTrust_ORLA_Restaurant_AD_v4.indd 1

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

7/30/20 1:11 PM

LET'S THINK CREATIVE TOGETHER Exploring Online Ordering, Delivery, Reservations and Tableside Options for Self-Ordering

H

as COVID-19 hit your restaurant hard? Now is the time to explore new ways to bring in revenue streams.

It takes some creative thinking to keep up with the ever-changing rules, regulations and customer expectations. Is your restaurant set-up for success? Let's explore some ways you can succeed and excel together.

Make your customer king. Your customer is more important than any other aspect of your business, so treat them that way. Give them everything they want before they ask for it. Online ordering is more popular than ever with pick-up, delivery and even table reservations with pre-ordering food to help turn tables quicker.

Customers are coming to expect these features.

Don't think it has to be hard. New technologies are being developed every day to bring simplicity and cost savings to restaurants. Right now, everyone has to be competitive, even your vendors and suppliers. What was best last week may not be today.

Now is the time to explore new technologies. Things to consider when you are exploring online ordering is cost and ease of use.

Most systems look similar, but it really comes down to costs, employee interaction and customer satisfaction. When it comes to cost, if a company wants a piece of your profits it might be best to look elsewhere. There are many companies that offer commissionfree online ordering. The other thing to consider is how you will receive orders. Do you have to check email, get a fax or have a dedicated tablet that rings when an order comes in? Will this save you time and reduce errors? Think about your employees and how their workflow will change. What if you could bypass employee interaction and send online orders directly into your POS system and to your kitchen displays to ensure accuracy and increase efficiency? It’s possible.

Now that you have mastered online ordering it isn't that much of a stretch to add delivery. Yes, there are many companies that will take orders and deliver them for you but that isn't without a huge cut of your profits. Can you afford to let your customers order from these third party companies when they could be ordering directly from your own website? What if you could get your food delivered by your employees to local residents with an on-call dispatch system that links with online ordering? It’s possible.

Is your dining room open? Turn tables as quickly as possible to make up for the reduced capacity. Try offering your customers the ability to reserve a table and order their food at the same time. When they arrive for their reservation food can be hot and ready and increase your table turnover rates. If you want to keep employee interaction to a minimum, tableside self-ordering could be a good way to send orders to the kitchen immediately, bypassing employee interaction. This can be especially important

if you have expanded your outdoor seating and have a hard time seeing the entire dining area. Customer satisfaction will increase along with your profits.

With the proper technology in place it is time to tell your customers about it! Make sure your website is your customers’ go-to source of info for your business. Telling customers to visit social media or third party websites won't help your website SEO. You can keep control of your own brand by making your website fast and easy to find with all the necessary info. Business hours and online ordering are the main things searched for, so make it front and center on your website. Take a few minutes to search for your business online and make sure what your customers find is accurate. Claim your Google Business listing to ensure you keep control of your information and can respond to reviews. Text messaging is a great way to send special offers, secret menu items, or fill slow times since customers respond to text faster than other communication method. If you give your customer a reason to visit other than a discount it will show value without reducing your profits.

Technology doesn't have to be confusing, complicated or expensive. If you want to find great local companies that can help you explore your options, it is as easy as searching ORLA’s online Buyer’s Guide at OregonRLA.org.  JORDAN WINTHROP About

Jordan Winthrop is owner of Winthrop Corp., creators of DinerDashboard.com. He can be contacted at jordan@dinerdashboard.com.

OregonRLA.ORG 37

PIVOTING WITH THE INDUSTRY OLCC Continues to Adjust to Help Hospitality Industry During the Pandemic

T

he canary in the coal mine for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission arrived the weekend of March 14th. That’s when the agency sprang into action to provide relief for grocers seeking relief from Bottle Bill redemption requirements. Reports had arrived that grocery stores were short stocked, short staffed, and packed with pandemic panicked customers. It became clear the priority needed be serving customers so they could get supplies to shelter in place. This was the first tangible impact of COVID-19 involving the OLCC, and a harbinger of the type of response and flexibility the OLCC would need to show in the weeks and months ahead.

On the Monday before St. Patrick’s Day, members of the OLCC’s Policy, Analytics, Communications and Education (PACE) group began to consider what policy and rule adjustments would be needed in order to protect people’s health, and help the hospitality industry.

In a matter of weeks, the OLCC took action allowing bars and restaurants to

38

provide curbside alcohol delivery, return unused distilled spirits for refunds to liquor stores, and drop their Liquor Liability Insurance if they weren’t operating. (Many of these actions were detailed in ORLA Magazine’s summer edition.)

It took a while for the restrictions around the new approach to business to take place.

A few licensees didn’t get the message and the OLCC stepped in to enforce the Governor’s Executive Orders by issuing immediate license suspensions. But the majority of the OLCC’s alcohol licensees not only chose to abide by the new rules but also provided the agency with realtime feedback so we could make process adjustments and policy improvements.

Meanwhile the OLCC continued to make changes designed to provide additional economic relief. Payment of liquor license fees was temporarily postponed. Beer and wine privilege tax payments were allowed to be delayed, without penalties or interest.

Oregon based distillers were allowed to make limited direct sale deliveries to instate customers.

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

The second phase of relief for the hospitality industry was tied to reopening Oregon. This included determining the impact and providing guidance on the interpretation of OLCC rules as counties began transitioning into Phase One and Phase Two status. Following the Governor’s Executive Orders and the Oregon Health Authority’s guidance, the OLCC aligned its rules to provide clear boundaries for licensees to re-open, to keep their staff and customers safe, and to understand the new responsibilities for alcohol service.

One change allows licensees to expand their licensed premises. To expedite the process the OLCC set up an auto-approval system. In short our approach was “get your paperwork in order, make sure you’re following the rules, and then open for business; later we’ll check-up on you to make sure everything is in order.”

During the summer it became clear that counties would be subject to sudden shifts between Reopening phases depending on how well their communities were doing against preventing the spread of COVID,

including wearing face coverings and following social distancing requirements.

It became apparent that some OLCC alcohol licensees weren’t willing to follow the rules putting the whole hospitality industry in jeopardy.

requirements. To date, OLCC has issued three immediate license suspensions.

At the direction of the Governor’s office, and in concert with Oregon Occupational Safety and Health, the OLCC was tasked with enforcing face covering and social distancing requirements at establishments operated by alcohol licensees. During the first few weeks of enforcement, compliance by licensees was uneven.

Amidst the response to the pandemic, this summer the OLCC also continued its work with the restaurant and hospitality industry.

This included working with the industry and health partners to permanently adopt rules that provided licensees greater flexibility to offer “curbside” delivery of beer, wine and cider, same-day delivery of alcohol and to extend the hours for delivery.

Further, staff continued working with the wine industry on labeling rules related to American Viticultural Areas (AVAs).

Because of concerns about the whole hospitality industry having to shut down because of the behavior of just a few licensees, the OLCC partnered with ORLA to relay the importance of following social distancing guidance to keep the industry open and prevent further spread of COVID. The OLCC then took procedural steps to do an immediate license suspension in the event a restaurant or bar was flagrantly violating the face covering and social distancing

The shift in the OLCC’s regulatory posture – taking steps that were a matter of survival for licensees – is viewed with concern by public health advocates worried about the impact of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic. To that end, the OLCC is working with the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission to address and support solutions to the chronic dependency issues, while ensuring that OLCC alcohol licensees operate in a manner that isn’t detrimental to public health.

One issue where the OLCC wasn’t able to offer much flexibility was with “cocktailsto-go.” That’s an issue the legislature will need to take up because it requires a statutory change.

The OLCC’s pivot in the last six months has been significant. But one unintended consequence is that all of the business continuity changes the OLCC has made have been prioritized over routine licensing matters. Now the turnaround time on those “ordinary” matters is taking longer. Our best advice is to take care of those ordinary matters well in advance. Bottom line: Have your “ducks” in a row.

We expect that for as long as the pandemic exists, we will continue to make adjustments to help licensees sustain their businesses. And we’ll rely on ORLA and its membership for guidance and support.  THE OREGON LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION

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Foodservice Workforce Management Solutions

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Control Labor Costs Your workforce represents your largest controllable expense. Our automated HCM solution can help you eliminate paper processes; gain real-time visibility; and provide better, more predictable schedules to ensure the right person is in the right place at the right time.

Increase Employee Engagement and Productivity When employees aren’t engaged, they can be less productive and not able to deliver the quality your guests expect. Mobile capabilities allow employees to view schedules, manage tasks, access timecards, and engage in a simple, efficient, and modern way. With less time spent on such tasks, there is more time to increase sales and guest satisfaction.

Enhance Guest Experience When your workforce is being managed in the most efficient away, it allows you to focus on what’s most important– your guests. Our HCM solution for foodservice will help ensure your staff is optimally scheduled, productive, and fully engaged.

Minimize Compliance Risk With legal cases on the rise and proposed changes to the minimum wage varying from state to state and city to city–you need the right workforce tools to help ensure you’re protecting your employees and your business. Take a proactive approach with our integrated HCM solution, you’ll have access to real-time, accurate employee data to help you comply.

CONTACT: Tina Bremer, Business Advisor, at TBremer@gnsadmin.com or 503.972.1949 • GNSAdmin.com

Fast and Easy Training To Work In Oregon Restaurants • Available in English or Spanish • Test on a computer or mobile device • Stop and start anytime • Pay when you pass • Print or save your card

OregonFoodHandler.com 40

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

IT’S YOUR BUSINESS Coronavirus And Workers’ Compensation Claims

H

ow does SAIF handle coronavirus claims, and what should I do if I experience an outbreak?

The safety and health of employees is top of mind right now for all employers. SAIF, Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company and the largest workers’ compensation carrier in the state, is committed to partnering with policyholders as we manage this crisis together. Despite employers’ best efforts, workrelated exposures occur. While coronavirus workers’ compensation claims are uncharted territory, there are clear steps for you to take.

Let’s walk through the process you’ll experience if there’s an outbreak.

Step 1: Filing the claim The first step is getting the right claims in the door. A claim should be filed if an employee is quarantined because of an exposure at work, or if an employee is sick with COVID-19 and believes that they contracted the illness at work.

You don’t necessarily need to file claims if you shut down for a period related to an outbreak, or when you suggest that employees be tested generally. You don’t necessarily need to file claims when employees are diagnosed with coronavirus. Under current law, coronavirus is not a default workers’ comp claim.

The trigger is when an individual employee is tested, quarantined, or ill, tied to a confirmed or suspected work exposure, or if an employee request that a claim be filed. A positive coronavirus test

isn’t required for a compensable claim, if there is quarantine or a presumptive diagnosis that is work-related.

When SAIF learns of an outbreak at a policyholder’s job site, we’ll often reach out to help you sort through which claims need to be filed. We’re also available to consult with policyholders anytime, to walk through claims filing.

Through mid-August 2020 we have received just over 850 COVID-related workers’ comp claims. Some of these are quarantine-related, and others are illness-related. For symptomatic workers, we’re finding that most are able to be tested, with improvements in testing availability. About two-thirds of the workers who filed claims were tested, and about half of those tests were positive.

Step 2: Examining the claim Once a claim is received, the second step is investigating, to determine whether the exposure is work-related. We will ask you questions about employees or customers who were sick at work during the relevant time period, about your interactions with public health authorities and their recommendations, and about the guidance you’ve given employees about quarantine or return to work.

We’ll interview employees who file claims about any treatment or symptoms they’ve had, about their off-work experiences, and about anyone sick they’ve been exposed to off the job. We review medical records and test results. We apply learnings from public health authorities about transmission, and sometimes request OregonRLA.ORG 41

Create a Culture of Food Safety. a medical opinion to learn the likely cause of the exposure or condition.

Step 3: Claims decision and processing benefits Generally, if it appears the transmission occurred at work, SAIF accepts the claim and pays benefits. Because workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, compensability is not driven by the level of the employer’s compliance with public health or other guidance to prevent transmission. The key is simply whether the exposure or transmission occurred at work.

Benefit payments can include time loss for quarantine or illness, diagnostic and treatment-related medical services, permanent disability, and, in the event of a fatality, payments to beneficiaries.

Sometimes, benefits are paid before a decision on a claim. These pre-decision benefits may include time loss for quarantine or illness and medical benefits for diagnostics like testing.

As a safety and health company, SAIF takes our mandate to serve workers and employers during this time very seriously. Beginning prior to the governor’s emergency declaration, SAIF created specialty teams to serve workers and policyholders impacted by coronavirus exposure and COVID-19 illness. We also established a $25 million coronavirus worker safety fund and provided awards to more than 3,400 businesses to purchase personal-protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, and worksite modifications to protect workers from the virus.

We have coronavirus safety and claims resources available to you.

If you are with SAIF and do experience a claim, our experienced, specialty, claims and legal teams stand by to partner with you in helping you through this process.

Coronavirus and workplace safety resources: SAIF’s Coronavirus Safety page: SAIF.com/coronavirussafety; see Webinars on reopening SAIF’s videos and online training page, under Coronavirus: SAIF.com/trainings/videos-and-online-training SAIF Learning Center: SAIF.com/trainings/learning-center-information SAIF YouTube Channel videos: YouTube.com/c/SAIFCorporation/videos; Note the materials referenced in the video can be found in the description of each video. Viewers will need to click on “show more” to access the materials.

More information can be found at SAIF.com.  SAIF CORPORATION 42

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

ORLA'S SERVSAFE® MANAGER CERTIFICATION COURSE Give the best protection possible to your business, your brand and your customers.

Help your team protect against foodborne illness outbreaks with ORLA's ServSafe training. This course blends the latest FDA Food Code, food safety research and years of food sanitation training experience. Your team will learn to implement essential food safety practices and create a culture of food safety. This certification meets the “Demonstration of Knowledge” and “Person in Charge” requirements of the Oregon Food Code and includes additional risk management training.

Certification is valid statewide for five years and also satisfies the food handler requirement.

CLASSES AROUND THE STATE: Classes are typically held in Portland, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Eugene, Medford, Bend, and the recently added cities of Seaside and Lincoln City.

Register Online at OregonRLA.org/ServSafe

ON-SITE PRIVATE CLASS: If you have 15 or more employees for the ServSafe course (and you have a classroom setting) we can provide the trainer at no additional cost! Call 971.224.1503 or 866.679.6733 for details.

OregonRLA.org/ServSafe

OLCC APPROVED ALCOHOL SERVER TRAINING Oregon's only winner of the Brandon Hall Award for Excellence for Alcohol Server Education • Just $18 for the course and practice test • Available in English or Spanish

• Take the training on your computer or mobile device • Resources to help guide you • Stop and start anytime

OregonAlcoholServer.com OregonRLA.ORG 43

LODGING PERFORMANCE Hotel Benchmark Data The information contained in this report is provided by STR. For detailed lodging performance data for your area, contact STR at 615.824.8664 ext. 3504 or info@str.com. ORLA members can log in to access to monthly reports on OregonRLA.org in the Resource Library.

MONTH - JULY 2020 VS JULY 2019

Occupancy (%)

Avg Rm Rate ($)

RevPAR ($)

Percent Change from January 2019

2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 2019 Occ ADR RevPAR Room Room Room

Rev Avail Sold United States

47.0 73.6 101.76 135.27 47.84 99.58 -36.1 -24.8 -52.0 -53.9 -4.0 -38.7

Pacific

48.5

Oregon

81.3

120.55

185.31

58.46

150.67

-40.4

-34.9

-61.2

-64.9

-9.5

-46.0

53.9 79.8 112.62 144.31 60.65 115.19 -32.5 -22.0 -47.3 -49.0 -3.2 -34.7

Eastern+

56.5 72.4 85.99 98.02 48.59 70.95 -21.9 -12.3 -31.5 -31.2 0.5 -21.6

Central+

71.6 82.6 143.92 175.60 103.04 145.00 -13.3 -18.0 -28.9 -27.0 2.7 -10.9

Southern+

64.0 78.3 93.32 108.86 59.71 85.28 -18.3 -14.3 -30.0 -30.0 0.0 -18.3

Willamette Valley+

54.4 75.3 96.14 117.18 52.31 88.21 -27.7 -18.0 -40.7 -43.1 -4.0 -30.6

MT Hood/Gorge+

60.0 83.2 117.70 140.91 70.63 117.23 -27.9 -16.5 -39.8 -37.2 4.2 -24.8

Portland Metro+

37.5 83.8 98.87 158.37 37.11 132.77 -55.2 -37.6 -72.0 -74.3 -8.0 -58.8

Coast+

67.8 77.6 142.50 154.29 96.65 119.65 -12.5 -7.6 -19.2 -19.3 -0.1 -12.6

YEAR TO DATE - JULY 2020 VS JULY 2019 Occupancy (%)

Avg Rm Rate ($)

RevPAR ($)

Percent Change from YTD 2019

PARTICIPATION Properties

Rooms

2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 2019 Occ ADR RevPAR Room Room Room Census Sample Census Sample

Rev Avail Sold United States 43.7 67.0 107.91 131.77 47.17 88.27 -34.7 -18.1 -46.6 -48.8 -4.2 -37.5 56289 34459 5132966 3808754 Pacific 47.0 74.3 137.76 172.25 64.76 127.95 -36.7 -20.0 -49.4 -53.1 -7.4 -41.4 8050 4314 700334 513119 Oregon 42.5 65.8 101.32 122.84 43.03 80.82 -35.5 -17.5 -46.8 -48.6 -3.4 -37.7 931 494 65916 45681 Eastern+ 43.4 57.1 78.99 84.80 34.29 48.40 -23.9 -6.8 -29.1 -29.4 -0.3 -24.2 88 44 4730 2865 Central+ 44.7 64.7 111.10 130.21 49.64 84.23 -30.9 -14.7 -41.1 -40.6 0.8 -30.4 84 47 5949 3859 Southern+ 45.2 60.5 81.94 94.86 37.05 57.41 -25.3 -13.6 -35.5 -36.3 -1.2 -26.2 145 72 8606 5810 Will. Valley+ 45.0 63.6 91.87 107.80 41.33 68.57 -29.3 -14.8 -39.7 -42.8 -5.1 -32.9 149 92 10230 7564 Hd/Grg+ 43.1 66.6 97.51 112.48 42.04 74.90 -35.2 -13.3 -43.9 -44.1 -0.5 -35.6 35 22 2305 1840 Metro+ 39.2 73.6 107.55 138.73 42.17 102.14 -46.7 -22.5 -58.7 -60.9 -5.3 -49.5 220 160 22993 19565 Coast+ 43.4 59.2 110.96 121.69 48.19 72.07 -26.7 -8.8 -33.1 -35.4 -3.4 -29.2 208 60 10973 4535

Where to go for training O R L AT R A I N I N G . C O M The Only Industry Training That Supports Oregon Hospitality!

44

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

NEW MEMBERS ORLA Would Like To Welcome The Following New Members From June 2020 - August 2020

Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, Astoria Oregon Public House, Portland Bellagios Pizza, Clackamas

React Mobile, Seattle, WA

Cornbread Cafe Springfield, Springfield

Shamrock Foods, Meridian, ID

Cornbread Cafe, Eugene

SpotMenus by BrandMuscle, Cleveland, OH

Culmination Brewing, Portland

Thomason Bean Co., Inc., Grants Pass

Doordash, San Francisco, CA

Urban Plantscapes of Dennis' 7 Dees, Portland

Ferment Brewing Company, Hood River

Village Inn Motel, Springfield

Keizer Computer, Keizer

Westward Inn, Brookings

La Cocina, Portland

Zoo Normal, Seattle, WA

Lakeland Marketing, Milwaukie

OregonRLA.ORG 45

WHAT YOUR PEERS ARE SAYING Meet Some Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Members

M

embership in ORLA means being part of the only organization in the state devoted to protecting and promoting the interests of our industry. It’s all of us together that makes that possible.

Get inspired by these peer profiles where members share about what they've learned and what they think of the future. For a little covid-coping insight we also wanted to know favorite takeout dishes and secret getaways for mini-escapes to during the pandemic.

Tell Your Peers a Little About You! If you are a member, and are willing to be profiled here, please email us at info@OregonRLA.org. Also, let us know if there is a question you would like to see your peers answer.

GET TO KNOW SOME OF YOUR PEERS BY READING THEIR RESPONSES TO THESE BUSINESS RELATED QUESTIONS:

What is one lesson you or your organization learned through this pandemic?

What concerns do you have about the future of this industry?

KATEN PATEL Best Western McMinnville / K10 Hotels

TERALL AND RUTH BLALOCK Jimmy's Classic Drive Inn, Grants Pass

KEVIN WENDELBURG SeaWinds Estate, Bandon

Realize and be empathetic, understand that work is not the only thing on peoples' minds.

Take care of your employees, and they will take care of your customers.

Maintaining the ability to change and adapt is critical. If there were never tough times we would never adapt and improve.

We have learned to be thankful for what we have. To slow down. And to get to know each other again.

The increased costs of doing business may reach beyond customers ability to pay.

The degradation of airline travel. Service to small towns will be severely degraded.

Title: Operations Liaison Joined the Company: 2020 Member Since: 1992 Fav Takeout: Pad Thai from Thai Noon Secret Getaway: Harvey Creek Trail, Dundee Learned during the pandemic:

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Title: Owners/Operators Owned Since: October 2019 Member Since: 2020 Fav Takeout: Hamburger Secret Getaway: Motorhome anywhere Learned during the pandemic/ Concerns for the future:

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

Title: Proprietor Open Since: 2019 Member Since: 2019 Fav Takeout: Anything Chinese!

Secret Getaway: SeaWinds Estate, of course!

Learned during the pandemic/ Concerns for the future:

CASEY M LUCAS The RestaurantZone, Portland

JENNIFER WALL rapid!PayCard, Bend

SALAM KADDUMII Salam Restaurant, Hillsboro

Don't wait for things to open up to start the hiring process. Build that pipeline of great candidates to choose from when the time comes.

We can adapt quickly to change and celebrate the little things that are working well.

Shortage in finding employees to work, the expectation of customers and also depending more on the delivery services which they have hefty charges for the restaurant.

CARI SHAFER Oxford Suites Pendleton & Hermiston

NICK PEARSON Jupiter Hotel and Jupiter NEXT, Portland

ADDIE CASE Cousins Country Inn, The Dalles

Getting back to being proactive. We have been so proactive in our industry, during the pandemic we switched to reactive. Time to reprogram again.

Be ready to pivot and thrive and keep an open mind to all possibilities. When faced with unprecedented challenges, problem solving will need to be viewed through new lenses.

Reacting to the challenges during the pandemic is much easier if you focus only on your reactions and adjust your mindset.

Title: Executive Recruiter Open Since: 2020 Member Since: 2020 Fav Takeout: Chicken Sandwich Secret Getaway: Dog Park Learned during the pandemic:

Title: General Manager Joined the Company: 2018 Member Since: 2018 Fav Takeout: OMG Burger Secret Getaway: Joseph, Oregon Concerns for the future:

Title: Territory Manager Joined the Company: 2013 Member Since: 2020 Fav Takeout: Parilla Grill Secret Getaway: Beach House!

Learned during the pandemic:

Title: General Manager Joined the Company: 2015 Member Since: 2012 Fav Takeout: Sushiritos Secret Getaway: Wind River Wilderness Learned during the pandemic:

Title: Owner Open Since: 2013 Member Since: 2020 Fav Takeout: Mezza platter, Kabob, Zereshk Polo Secret Getaway: Drive around and walk Concerns for the future:

Title: Property Manager Joined the Company: 2010 Member Since: 1973 Fav Takeout: Pizza Secret Getaway: My back porch Learned during the pandemic:

OregonRLA.ORG 47

NEWS BRIEFS Happenings From Around the Industry

Hospitality with Heart Brings Hoteliers Together for Portland

Over 500 volunteers participated in a city-wide trash cleanup effort on September 3rd organized by the Portland Lodging Alliance in conjunction with SOLVE Oregon, the Portland Business Alliance, Clean & Safe, Travel Portland, and the City of Portland. The cleanup event helped remove 3,290 pounds of trash from city streets and sidewalks. ORLA staff joined the many volunteers from Portland hotels with gloves and bags for the event, helping serve as a catalyst for initiating change in the narrative about Portland. “There’s nothing better than having hospitality employees coming together and making a difference to show how much we love Portland and Oregon,” said Jason Brandt, ORLA President & CEO. “These efforts help amplify what we do to build community, collaboration, and partnership with one another.”

COVID-19 Resources, Relief Information Consolidated

Since March of this year, ORLA has been diligently keeping industry members informed of the latest resources relating to COVID-19, employer and employee relief available, local and federal advocacy efforts, and insights important to restaurant and lodging operators in Oregon. Your association remains committed to providing you with needed information along with intelligence on navigating new and changing regulations for operating a business in the current environment. In addition, ORLA is working with many industry partners and vendors to provide members with resources, products and services, and best practices to weather the impacts of this pandemic. Visit OregonRLA.org for links to this information and make sure you’re signed up to receive emails at bit.ly/ORLAsubscribe.

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Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

Hospitality Career Pathway Study: It Pays Off

AHLA Foundation recently released the results from a study conducted by Emsi, a labor market analytics firm and affiliate of the Strada Education Network, to provide insights on the career pathways hospitality students follow as they advance in the industry. The study found that hospitality graduates with associate degrees are more likely to remain in the same industry in comparison to their bachelor’s degree counterparts and that both degree holders see similar and substantial wage growth of 53 percent over their careers. Emsi also confirmed that tenure in the hospitality industry pays off, leading to high-paying managerial positions given the experience and industryspecific education received. For hospitality employers, this means that building relationships with 2-year schools can be a highly successful model for sourcing quality talent that is likely to stay in the industry.

Read the full results from the study at bit.ly/AHLAFemsi.

Building Consumer Confidence in Dining Out

As the restaurant industry faces a $240B loss this year due to COVID-19, the National Restaurant Association launched a new national consumer ad campaign to encourage consumers to return to their favorite local restaurant. The Restaurant Revival ad taps into the sights and sounds associated with dining out and asks diners, “Doesn’t dining out sound good?” Restaurants are encouraged to add the video to their websites and share in social media. While diners have been able to enjoy some restaurant meals through take-out and delivery, we all have missed hearing the words, ‘Your table is ready,’ and the unique experiences that dining out provides. As part of this campaign, the National Restaurant Association and ServSafe launched a new website, ServSafeDining.org, and a tool for diners to find local eateries that have taken the ServSafe Dining Commitment. This program is part of a multi-faceted campaign to showcase restaurants that have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to the health and safety of their employees and guests.

Reopening with a Commitment to Safety

As Oregon counties continue to move through phases, ORLA wants to make sure hospitality operators have every tool available to them to showcase our industry’s commitment to safety and help instill confidence in the minds of our guests. In May, we launched comprehensive checklists for both restaurant and lodging operations that can be utilized as a way to review all details of your operations and earn a Commitment to Safety Seal you can prominently display for both customers and employees. Once completed, members will be sent materials to help amplify your commitment to safety message. For details, visit: OregonRLA.org/checklist.

You don’t have to be in the same room to save someone’s life.

During these challenging times, more people are struggling with thoughts of suicide. LivingWorks Start provides life-saving skills to keep them safe in just 90 minutes online.

Visit www.OregonRLA.org → Resources → Crisis Services & Training and search for “LivingWorks,” or learn more at www.livingworks.net OregonRLA.ORG 49

HOW CAN WE SERVE YOU?

MEMBER SOLUTIONS Save Time and Money with ORLA’s Endorsed Service Providers | OregonRLA.org/ESP

Contact us for questions; let us know what issues are affecting your business and how we can help.

MEMBERSHIP CONTACTS:

STEVEN SCARDINA Regional Representative 503.718.1495 SScardina@OregonRLA.org TERRY HOPKINS Regional Representative 541.441.2219 THopkins@OregonRLA.org GREG STANERUCK Regional Representative 503.858.0086 GStaneruck@OregonRLA.org MARLA McCOLLY Director of Business Development 503.428.8694 MMcColly@OregonRLA.org GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS CONTACTS:

JASON BRANDT President & CEO 503.302.5060 JBrandt@OregonRLA.org GREG ASTLEY Director of Government Affairs 503.851.1330 Astley@OregonRLA.org NICOLE PETERSON Government Affairs Coordinator 503.320.9823 NPeterson@OregonRLA.org GLENDA HAMSTREET Executive Coordinator Government Affairs 971.224.1509 GHamstreet@OregonRLA.org OREGON RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSOCIATION OFFICE:

​​503.682.4422 | 800.462.0619 50

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020

WORKERS’ COMP INSURANCE ORLA’s group program with SAIF affords members an additional 14% premium discount if they meet the eligibility requirements.

CREDIT CARD PROCESSING Low rates, local service representatives, 24/7 customer service, and security and reliability.

PROPERTY & LIABILITY INSURANCE The only Group Dividend Property and Liability program in Oregon whose policyholders have potential for a dividend.

HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS Standard healthcare coverage. ORLA Health Solutions also includes telemedicine, at-home testing, health savings accounts, free prescription discount cards and mental health resources.

COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND IT SUPPORT ORLA Members receive up to 30-40% off the everyday price on select Dell products. Members can also receive round-the-clock access to IT help with ProSupport, only from Dell.

OFFICE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Up to 80% off Manufacturers Suggested List Price.

Create customized buying list to fit your needs.

PAYROLL, TIME & ATTENDANCE, SCHEDULING, AND HRMS Receive 39% off Payroll Module and 20% off any additional modules, including Time & Attendance, Scheduling, and Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), for the lifetime of their membership.

All modules come with local team-based support.

HEALTH & WELLNESS Save on payroll taxes and increase take home pay for your employees with ORLA’s Wellness Program Services and a Limited Benefit Health & Wellness Insurance Policy.

MUSIC LICENSING ORLA Members can save up to 20% off their music licensing fees.​​

MUSIC LICENSING ORLA Members can save 10% on first year annual fee.

ORLA 401K / PROFIT SHARING Employers with a qualified plan are exempt from participating in OregonSaves. Learn more from plan administrator, Garth T. Rouse & Associates SEX TRAFFICKING RECOGNITION AND RESPONSE: 10% discount on in-person training and Guardian Seal Virtual Training program.

human sex trafficking is the buying or selling of another hum

HOSPITALITY HUB an exchange of anything of value for the sex act. Sex trafficking is ta Find additional member-to-member exclusive cost-saving offers United States and around the world.

The most common place to bu and benefits aimed at improving your bottom line online at OregonRLA.org/hospitality-hub.

INDICATORS OF SEX TRA

LOOKING AHEAD Visit OregonRLA.org for event details and registration.

SUNDAY

MONDAY

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THURSDAY

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OCTOBER 2020

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Elected Leader Listening Session

Elected Leader Listening Session

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Elected Leader Listening Session

Elected Leader Listening Sessions

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Elected Leader Listening Session Halloween 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Elected Leader Listening Session

NOVEMBER 2020

Election Day 1 2 3

Elected Leader Listening Session

4 5 6 7

Veterans Day 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

ORLA Live!

Virtual Conference

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Thanksgiving 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

ORLA ⁄ 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 Lincoln City Hospitality D River Beach Cleanup

OTLA 2021 Applications Due

DECEMBER 2020

Hanukkah Begins 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 At Sunset

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Christmas 20 21 22 23 24 Christmas Day Eve

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Kwanzaa

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New Year’s 27 28 29 30 31 Eve

OregonRLA.ORG 51

Customized coverage as unique as your business.

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That’s why, in partnership with Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA), Liberty Mutual Insurance works hard to understand it and deliver coverage specific to your needs.

We bring you 30+ years of partnership with the ORLA and an exclusive Property, Auto, and Liability Safety Group Dividend Program for qualifying ORLA members.* When you work with us, you’re working with the #1 preferred business insurer.**

To learn more, talk to your independent agent/broker or visit LibertyMutualGroup.com/Business.

* Dividend evaluation occurs annually; dividends are not guaranteed. ** Based on 2019 survey of business insurance buyers on preference of national carriers sold via independent agents. ©2020 Liberty Mutual Insurance. Insurance underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Boston, MA, or its affiliates or subsidiaries.

52 Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association | AUTUMN 2020