Omaha, NE (August 11, 2014) - Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE 02) praised the job growth in the Nebraska hotel industry today on a Heart of the House tour of a Holiday Inn in Omaha. The tour of the 114-room downtown property focused on the thousands of jobs generated by the hotel industry in Nebraska and the millions of dollars it contributes to the local and state economy.

The property tour was led by co-owners Kirt Trivedi and Deepak Gangahar along with general manager Sarah Cordes and Sean Davis, Director of Operations. The Heart of the House hotel tour provided Congressman Terry and his staff an opportunity to walk through the property, meet with employees and get a deeper understanding of the impact the hotel industry has on the local economy.

"It's clear tourism creates jobs for American workers including right here in Nebraska," said Congressman Terry. "That's why it was so important to me to gain passage of the Travel Promotion Act through my subcommittee and I will continue to ensure that Congress does all it can to support the hotel industry and travel and tourism to our great country."

Recently released data shows that the Nebraska lodging industry generates $269 million in tax revenue for state and local governments and provides more than 7,600 jobs resulting in $148 million in employee wages. Many of Nebraska's hotel properties are small businesses, a segment of the economy responsible for about half (47%) of all jobs in the state.

"Congressman Lee Terry understands how important the hotel industry is to job growth in our state and Nebraska's economy overall," said co-owner Trivedi. "Small businesses like the Omaha Holiday Inn are the engine of the economy of our country and we urge Congressman Terry to continue to be the champion in Congress to protect mom-and-pop businesses so that we can create more opportunities for our communities."

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, working together with state associations engages with members of congress on the Heart of the House hotel tours to provide an in-depth look at the career opportunities available as well as the economic impact the lodging industry has on the local, state and national economies.

# # #