WASHINGTON (March 2, 2016) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) today applauded the leadership of Omni Hotels & Resorts for testifying at a hearing held yesterday by the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources to showcase their commitment to supporting their local communities. The hearing, entitled, “Getting Incentives Right: Connecting Low-Income Individuals with Jobs,” focused on exploring opportunities to better meet the needs of job seekers and job creators and grow the economy. 

Barbara Doucet, Corporate Director of Human Resources for Omni Hotel & Resorts, highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships to help connect with low-income individuals and provide them with the opportunities necessary to compete and succeed in the workforce. She shared Omni’s success stories in training and hiring low-income individuals and underscored that the collaboration of local communities, employment programs and their company led to a steady pipeline of qualified candidates. Through job fairs, internship opportunities, training resources, Omni dedicated the time necessary to ensure individuals learn the skill-sets necessary to perform tasks required to fill job openings. Omni’s commitment to job growth mirrors that of the entire hotel industry which is responsible for employing some 2 million individuals and providing the training and resources employees need to attain higher positions within our industry. 

In her testimony, Ms. Doucet added: “Through these programs and partnerships, our managers are empowered to treat each associate with the utmost care and concern, which naturally leads to caring for our associates as a valued member of the Omni family, [one] of our core values. I would urge the committee to explore federal legislative funding that encourages subsidized employment programs which allow low-income individuals to receive realistic on-the-job training that can ultimately lead to full-time employment.”

Panelists included: 
 

• Ms. Barbara Doucet, Corporate Director of Human Resources, Omni Hotels & Resorts 
• Mr. Mark Wilson, President & CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce 
• Mr. Kenyatta Brame, Executive Vice President, Cascade Engineering 
• Ms. Laurie Bouillion Larrea, President, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas  

To read Ms. Doucet’s full testimony, please click here.
 

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Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.9 million-employee U.S. lodging industry, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides focused advocacy, communications support, and educational resources for an industry of more than 53,000 properties generating $176 billion in annual sales from 5 million guestrooms.