Although lobbying legislators and providing congressional staff members the information they need to make informed decisions about legislation that can affect the industry represented by the association is important, remember that most members want to know “How does it affect me?”
In a survey of association members and staff in 2020, 53% of members said that industry information is important and 45% identified advocacy as an important benefit of association membership. Combining advocacy, industry information, and the effect on a member’s daily business in association communications is one way to continue to promote the value of membership.
The California Hotel & Lodging Association makes sure that members understand how advocacy efforts – which can see far-removed from day-to-day activities of members – affects their businesses, staff, and guests with regular articles that describe efforts of the association. Articles in their quarterly magazine not only provide some of the details of the legislation but also provide real-life examples of the effects and recommendations on how to address these situations:
- Websites that are non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the relationship between the hotel and third-party reservation sites.
- High-frequency litigants with ADA complaints related to the hotel industry and the association’s ADA Protection Program that protects members from serial litigants.
While there are always members who enjoy meeting with lawmakers, writing letters and calling local officials, there are many more members who don’t enjoy the legislative advocacy side of their industry. Be sure to communicate your efforts in language that answers their question: How does it affect me?
