Restaurant & Lodging - Spring 23

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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

To learn more about ORLA visit us online at 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 us at info@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.

2022-23 ORLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Harish Patel, Chair, Florencein, Inc.

Shannon McMenamin, Vice Chair, McMenamins

Patrick Nofield, Treasurer, Escape Lodging

Komal (Tina) Patel, Secretary ALKO Hotels

John Barofsky, Immediate Past Chair, Beppe & Gianni’s Trattoria

Marin Arreola III, Advanced Economic Solutions (AES) Inc.

Jolee Bancroft, Mo's Restaurants

Terry Bichsel, Rivertide Suites Hotel

Joe Buck, Babica Hen Cafe, Gubanc’s, Lola’s Cafe

Don Crowe, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Emma Dye, Crisp

Gordon Feighner, Jam on Hawthorne, Cricket Cafe

Kurt Huffman, ChefStable

Eli Katkin, Brickroom

Masudur Khan, Khan Properties Group

Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort

Katie Poppe, Blue Star Donuts

Dani Rosendahl, The Pit Stop Sports Bar & BBQ Grill

George Schweitzer, The Benson

Natalie Sheild, Togather Restaurant Consulting

Rick Takach, Vesta Hospitality

Jake Vanderveen, McDonald Wholesale Co.

Scott Youngblood, Benchmark | Pyramid Luxury & Lifestyle

Dhruti Amin, Ex Officio Board Member, ALKO Hotels

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe Cleaners

SPRING 2023

Safety & Security

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOWNTOWN PORTLAND CLEAN & SAFE

ERC expertise delivered by Adesso Capital

ERC expertise delivered by Adesso Capital

ERC expertise delivered by Adesso Capital

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association has engaged Adesso Capital to offer ERC filing services to our members. Adesso Capital provides concierge financial services to small and mid-sized businesses.

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association has engaged Adesso Capital to offer ERC filing services to our members. Adesso Capital provides concierge financial services to small and mid-sized businesses.

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association has engaged Adesso Capital to offer ERC filing services to our members. Adesso Capital provides concierge financial services to small and mid-sized businesses.

When the pandemic drove business in every industry into a downturn, Adesso assembled a team of tax experts to help entrepreneurs maximize the federal COVID relief available to them. Adesso Capital has helped hundreds of businesses secure tens of millions in ERC funds–with an average of $125,000 per ERC filing.

When the pandemic drove business in every industry into a downturn, Adesso assembled a team of tax experts to help entrepreneurs maximize the federal COVID relief available to them. Adesso Capital has helped hundreds of businesses secure tens of millions in ERC funds–with an average of $125,000 per ERC filing.

When the pandemic drove business in every industry into a downturn, Adesso assembled a team of tax experts to help entrepreneurs maximize the federal COVID relief available to them. Adesso Capital has helped hundreds of businesses secure tens of millions in ERC funds–with an average of $125,000 per ERC filing.

TENS OF MILLIONS

TENS OF

in ERC funds secured

TENS OF MILLIONS

MILLIONS

in ERC funds secured

in ERC funds secured

Average amount of ERC funds secured per filing: $125,000 HUNDREDS of businesses helped

Average amount of ERC funds secured per filing: $125,000 HUNDREDS of businesses helped

Average amount of ERC funds secured per filing: $125,000 HUNDREDS of businesses helped

We urge you to take advantage of this program that will deliver a timely cash infusion to your business.

We urge you to take advantage of this program that will deliver a timely cash infusion to your business.

AdessoCapital.com/ORLA

We urge you to take advantage of this program that will deliver a timely cash infusion to your business.

FROM THE CEO

Workforce Efforts Getting a Boost from Industry Champions

We heard it time and time again on the road as ORLA staff met with members across the state for our latest round of regional meetings – ‘we don’t have enough staff.’

And although we have heard since conditions are slightly improving for some, we still hear more about challenges than triumphs with it comes to recruitment efforts. If it gives you some comfort the hospitality industry is clearly not alone. It has been rare this past year to find an industry content with the number of workers they have to meet consumer demand. The reality is we face more competition for fewer people as industry leaders work to focus on attributes unique to their fields. We recently heard there are roughly six million people still looking for a job in the country and approximately two job openings for each one of those unemployed workers.

We have unique attributes in hospitality. Especially when it comes to meeting a moment like the one we face today. Those of us serving on Oregon’s Hospitality Foundation Board of Directors would tell you our industry is most likely the largest untapped private sector partner for essential skills development in our youth. In a way, the hospitality industry is primed to serve as a type of antidote to the lost development time triggered by Covid. Whether you stick with our industry as a career or utilize the industry to develop skills and launch into a different field, hospitality remains a valuable partner in preparing our youth for the world of work.

You would be hard pressed to find someone in your life that doesn’t have stories of how a hospitality job helped shape their identity. What used to be referred to as soft skills by workforce development leaders are now

rightfully named essential skills. And these skills, including professional behaviors like personalizing a customer’s experience and exhibiting passion for your role, are taught every day in hospitality businesses.

The work of ORLA’s Hospitality Foundation is focused on recruiting more high schools to take up culinary and hospitality/tourism management programming for kids. The Foundation, thanks to the work of Executive Coordinator Courtney Smith, is coming off a successful ProStart competition. High schools with both culinary and management programming have the opportunity every year to compete in the annual Oregon ProStart Championships.

In addition, ORLA is working to connect lodging and restaurant members with the Oregon Department of Education as they undertake an update to skills standards for high schools with culinary, hospitality, and tourism-oriented classes. Several ORLA members have answered the call to be a part of this important working group.

And lastly, one of our 16 team members on the ORLA staff works full time to build bridges between educators and industry operators one tourism region at a time. Lupe Arellano is here to help you connect with local high school and community college educators to tell your hospitality story as a guest speaker. We are also elevating opportunities for members to participate in job and career fairs. Both Lupe and Courtney recently attended the NW Youth Careers Expo at the Oregon Convention Center which brought thousands of prospective employees to one event for interested employers. Events like this should be elevated amongst members struggling to find the employees they need to sustain business operations. Lupe’s work

is focused along Oregon’s coastline this year with additional focus coming to the Willamette Valley and the Portland Metro region in the next few years in partnership with Travel Oregon.

Included with this editorial is the contact information for both Lupe and Courtney. If you are experiencing a need for additional employees, I hope you will take a moment to introduce yourself to these key staff. Both Lupe and Courtney are well positioned to help make connections for our members that can help relieve workforce shortage pain points as we work to address the number one challenge facing the industry.

We also want to take a moment to thank our industry members and partners for financially investing in the Oregon Hospitality Foundation. Our friends at Dutch Brothers, Tillamook Creamery, Travel Oregon, and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association all deserve recognition for assisting ORLA in funding the work of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation. 

JASON BRANDT, PRESIDENT & CEO, ORLA

OREGON HOSPITALITY FOUNDATION

Courtney

Smith, ProStart Liaison/Executive Coordinator

CSmith@OregonRLA.org

775.354.9895

Lupe Arellano, Workforce Development/ Business Liaison

LArellano@OregonRLA.org

541.974.3696

ADVOCACY UPDATE

As of this writing, over 2,200 bills have been dropped in the 2023 legislative session. ORLA is currently tracking over 100 of them in support, opposition or monitoring bills due to their relating clause or relevant topic to our hospitality industry.

Here are a few highlights from the session to date:

HB 2536 – Relating to Third-Party Delivery Fees

The Oregon Legislature passed a bill (HB 3361) in 2020 protecting restaurants from third-party delivery companies using their menu, logo, or pricing information without prior written consent. The enforcement mechanism for this bill remains unclear. HB 2536 reinforces those protections and makes it clear the enforcement agency would be the Oregon Health Authority. In addition, it

prohibits third-party delivery platforms from charging more than 15 percent for delivery fees.

ORLA testified in support of the bill and the protections it provides for restaurants while representing a fair and equitable approach to setting reasonable standards for third-party delivery companies and their interactions with restaurants.

SB 569 – Relating to Closed Captioning

This bill would require closed captioning on televisions in public areas within places of public accommodation. ORLA testified at a public hearing for the bill and made a request for amendments to cover the following:

• Exempt individual private rooms for rent (i.e., hotel rooms)

• Exempt screens of 12 inches or less (to eliminate having closed captioning on exercise machines)

• Remove a requirement that “Whenever closed captioning is disabled on any of the remaining receivers that are not subject to the requirement, the place of public accommodation shall affix to each receiver, or otherwise display, a notice indicating that the receiver does not output sound or that the receiver is on mute.”

At the time of this writing, those amendments were accepted by the proponents of the bill and should be included moving forward.

HB 3159 – Relating to State Lodging Tax

This bill would increase the state transient lodging tax (TLT) to three percent with 1.5 percent going to the Oregon Tourism Commission and anything over 1.5 percent going to an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife sub-account focused on conservation.

ORLA testified in opposition to the bill and at the time of this writing, had at least eight lodging owners and operators signed up to testify as well during the next scheduled hearing.

ORLA’s testimony focused on the fact that if conservation is important to all Oregonians, then all Oregonians should pay for it. In addition, the TLT was an agreement between lodging properties and the state to support hospitality businesses and our employees, not unrelated causes and issues. ORLA also clarified some of the inaccurate information being put forth by proponents of the bill to help lawmakers on the committee understand the true facts.

HB 3114 – Relating to Transient Lodging

This bill would prohibit a hotelkeeper on innkeeper from requiring a qualified victim services program that facilitates reservation or rental of a guest room in a hotel or inn to disclose personal information of a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Essentially, if someone came in to rent a room for a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and they were with a qualified victim services program, the lodging property could not ask for the victim’s identification to rent the room. The proponents of the bill were looking to protect the identity of the victim from their tormenter.

After talking with the proponents and determining there is no law requiring lodging properties to view a person’s ID to rent a room, they have agreed to drop the bill in favor of working with us and lodging operators to create an agreement between the victim services programs and lodging properties allowing for rental of rooms without ID but devising solutions to problems like lost keys, security, and liability.

House Committee on Gambling Regulation

ORLA Director of Government Affairs Greg Astley was joined by Julie Hoy, owner, Geppetto’s Italian Restaurant and Jerry Scott, CEO of Elmer’s Restaurants, Inc. to speak to the House Committee on Gambling Regulation at a recent meeting of the committee. Both Geppetto’s and Elmer’s are Oregon Lottery retailers and were asked to speak to how retailers were doing as we recover from the pandemic and how their lottery operations were faring.

Julie and Jerry spoke to concerns retailers have about employee safety, availability of machines for retailers and the benefits and challenges being a Lottery retailer entails. In addition to their testimony, Greg spoke to hearing from other retailers about safety

Greg Astley, Jerry Scott, Julie Hoy speak to the House Committee on Gambling Regulation

when it comes to the fact that lottery machines are cash only and that payouts are made in cash or slips of paper equivalent to cash that can be turned in by anyone in possession of the slip. He also mentioned the ongoing communication between ORLA and the Oregon Lottery and discussions around engaging retailers more directly with Lottery staff through forums and in-person meetings.

Natural Gas Bans

The Eugene City Council, in a surprise vote, approved an ordinance to prohibit natural gas hookups in new residential construction –the first city in Oregon to pass such a measure. It will affect newly built single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, cottage clusters and any residential structure of three stories or less.

Other cities in Oregon, such as Bend, Corvallis, and Milwaukie, are said to be considering similar bans on natural gas hookups. In all cases, ORLA’s concern is when bans on natural gas begin in residential construction, the natural progression for those in favor of such bans is to ask for bans on new industrial and commercial construction. In fact, in future months, the Eugene council plans to consider separate ordinances to prohibit fossil fuels in new

the decisions they make. Below are some of the ways you can get engaged and help make a difference.

Sign Up as a Hospitality Advocate – If you haven’t signed up yet, join over 2,000 of your colleagues and peers and be part of our Phone2Action network. This is our grassroots activation network of owners, operators and supports of the hospitality industry. We use Phone2Action to alert you to important legislation, provide talking points about the legislation and offer direct contact with those legislators all with a few simple clicks on your phone or computer. We encourage you to personalize your testimony and it’s easy to do. Simply sign up by texting “ORLA” to 52886.

Join Us at the National Conferences in D.C. – ORLA is fortunate to work with several national partners on advocacy issues at the federal level. This year, Jason Brandt, ORLA President & CEO and Harish Patel, ORLA Board Chair, will be attending the American Hotel & Lodging Association Hotels on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. May 15-17. If you’re a lodging operator and are interested in joining Jason and Harish, please email Jason at JBrandt@OregonRLA.org.

ORLA Director of Government Affairs Greg Astley will be leading the contingent of restaurant operators to Washington D.C. for the National Restaurant Association’s Public Affairs Conference June 19-21. If you’re a restaurant operator and are interested in joining Greg and the Oregon contingent, please email Astley@OregonRLA.org.

Support One Big Night Dinner & Auction – One Big Night is ORLAPAC’s biggest fundraiser of the year, helping us raise money to back candidates and elected officials who understand the importance of the hospitality industry in Oregon. Your support of the event is critical to our success. There are a few ways you can help including:

• Be a sponsor.

• Donate auction items / packages.

• Buy tickets to attend or fill a table.

• Bid on items in the auctions.

With both a silent and live auction, we are accepting donations from gift cards to lodging packages to almost anything you can think of to help raise money for our advocacy efforts. If you can attend, please bring some friends or fellow staff to help bid up the items and support ORLAPAC. This is one of most enjoyable, fun events we have during the year, don’t miss it!

For more information on tickets or donating items, contact Lauri Byerly at LByerly@OregonRLA.org. For more information on becoming a sponsor, contact Marla McColly at MMcColly@OregonRLA.org.

Looking for more ways to participate in the advocacy process? Visit OregonRLA.org/Advocacy and make sure you are subscribed to ORLA’s emails at bit.ly/ORLAsubscribe

GREG ASTLEY, ORLA

FOSTERING SYNERGISTIC PARTNERSHIPS

Meet Oregon Employment Department’s David Gerstenfeld

Oregon’s hospitality industry is reliant on a steady stream of potential workers to feed an increased demand for service from our restaurant and lodging operations around the state. It’s critical our association and the Oregon Hospitality Foundation maintain collaborative partnerships with organizations and agencies in order to help rebuild our industry’s workforce pipeline.

We spoke with David Gerstenfeld, acting director of the Oregon Employment Department (OED) recently to learn more about how his organization intersects with the Leisure and Hospitality sector.

You have a law degree and bachelor’s degree in psychology. What drew your interest to working for the state’s employment agency?

Most of my professional career has been in public service, something I find deeply fulfilling. It has also focused on employment law – which was a significant part of my private law practice. Since then, I have worked with a number of workplace programs at the Bureau of Labor and Industries, the Office of Administrative Hearings, and the Employment Department.

Work is such a major part of our lives. It is how we provide for ourselves and our families and how we spend so much of our time and energy. Work can either be something that elevates us, providing purpose and opportunity, or it can be a source of additional stress and pressure. It has the opportunity to fundamentally change people’s lives. The relationship between workers and businesses is central to the well-being of individuals our businesses, and economy.

The Employment Department has a huge impact on the lives of businesses, individual workers, their families, and entire communities. Being part of that has been incredibly meaningful. I work with an exceptional group of inspiring, talented, and dedicated people. It’s extremely rewarding

to be part of a team that is so dedicated to helping Oregon businesses and workers.

receive federal tax credits for hiring people, potentially allowing the business to make more competitive wage offers.

Oregon’s private sector job vacancies are historically high following the pandemic. Leisure and Hospitality recorded 11,798 vacancies in the Fall of 2022, second highest behind healthcare. What role can the OED play in helping hospitality businesses build back their workforce? WorkSource Oregon Business Service teams deliver a robust package of customized services to match quality candidates to employers. We begin by building a strong relationship between an employer and their WorkSource Business Service Representative through site visits where we consult with the employer to gain insight into their specific business needs and help them start planning for recruitment. Our business service teams partner with our job seeker service teams to host in-person and virtual job fairs that expand outreach to the talent pool, increase applicant flow, and offer on-the-spot interviews.

Data available through our qualityinfo.org website gives employers valuable information about the local workforce so they can make informed decisions about pay rates and other key factors in recruiting and retaining workers. We also share information about hiring incentives, tax breaks or credits, and we serve as a liaison to other helpful programs, like rapid response, disabled access credit, Work Share, and our newly updated Work Ready program. We can certify employers for Work Opportunity Tax Credits, so they

The Work Ready program is designed to identify and promote validated job seekers directly to employers to expedite their employment. This program ensures these jobseekers are connected to valuable resources and are ready-for-hire by local employers. Wrap around services from WorkSource Oregon provide employment retention services, rapid response layoff aversion, and Work Share that can help keep Oregonians working. This combined service method has proven especially valuable in connecting jobseekers who are returning, or entering the workforce, to in-demand industries like leisure and hospitality.

Work Share is a wage replacement program that offers employers an alternative to workforce layoffs when business is slow. It gives eligible employees a portion of their regular unemployment insurance benefit, and it allows employers to keep their talented workers. Struggling businesses can use Work Share to supplement pay and benefits to compensate for the reduced wages.

We are in a very tight labor market, and most employers are having difficulty finding as many employees as they would like. The Employment Department understands that leisure and hospitality businesses were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and we have these valuable tools, and connections with other workforce partners, that can help employers find and develop their workforce.

Oregon’s WorkSource Centers provide employers with connections to job candidates. How does OED interact with these centers to provide needed resources to benefit all industries?

WorkSource Oregon is a statewide partnership between the Oregon Employment Department and other state, local, and nonprofit agencies. We provide a variety of employment and training services

to job seekers and employers in Oregon. We serve Oregonians because we believe in creating communities where the employment needs of job seekers and businesses are met by solutions delivered efficiently through engaged workforce system partners. Some of the principles that guide our work include integrity, stewardship, and teamwork.

Our Business Services staff function as an integral part of our WorkSource Oregon center teams, and they serve as an extension of an employer’s HR team. In addition to access to the statewide labor exchange system, iMatchSkills, our employees use other resources, like LinkedIn recruiting tools, to help employers find workers. Through LinkedIn, we create and promote job listings to expand the pool of potential candidates and fill employers’ vacant positions swiftly. We also feature job-finding tips, workforce development articles, and success stories within the #TalentTuesday feature for Pride in Food Service Week to stay engaged with our followers.

Business services available through WorkSource Oregon can dramatically impact an employer’s recruitment success by connecting directly to the available talent pool. This leads to improved quality of candidates, a smaller number of referrals to the employer, and reduction in staff turnover for the employer. The value-add for employers is they interview fewer candidates, take less time to fill the position, with an easier selection process and reduced hiring costs. This also allows employers time to focus on their core business functions rather than the interruptions that come with current hiring efforts.

HB 3389 (passed in 2021) provided pandemic tax relief for Oregon employers while protecting the Unemployment Insurance Tax Fund. What are some longterm impacts this legislation will provide for businesses?

This bill was really an exceptional collaboration – bipartisan, bicameral

legislation that won the support of the business community, including ORLA, and worker representatives. It offered something for every employer, letting employers defer some of their unemployment insurance (UI) tax payments, providing more than $43 million in UI tax relief to Oregon employers in 2021, and ensuring that the unprecedented claims during the pandemic will not hurt employers’ UI tax rates. It also made some important, forward-looking changes to the statutes that guide Oregon’s already elegant UI Trust Fund.

These long-term changes adjusted the statutory formula that Oregon uses to maintain a solvent UI Trust Fund. The goal was to limit taxes for employers so they could recover while not basing long-term solvency targets on conditions during the pandemic. It adjusted the formula to take a longer view, accounting for the new types of economic cycles that were not anticipated when the statutes were originally written. These reforms let Oregon’s self-balancing formula continue to work as the economy changes while keeping tax rates predictable for employers that have weathered the pandemic.

The net result of these reforms will be more than $2 billion in UI tax relief for Oregon businesses through 2029. And it is working well – Oregon’s UI Trust Fund is already prepared for the next recession, and we are in the second lowest possible set of UI tax rates. Other states have pushed their regular UI tax rates to high levels to replenish their trust funds, and some are piling up additional taxes or missing out on federal tax credits because they had to borrow money for their trust funds. Meanwhile, Oregon’s UI Trust Fund is earning interest that reduces employer taxes. During the last quarter of 2022 alone, our trust fund earned more than $22 million in interest. That money stays in Oregon’s UI Trust Fund and helps keep all employers’ tax rates lower.

You head up the Modernization Program at OED. What are the program’s goals? What

milestones have been achieved that will benefit small businesses in the long run? The goals of our modernization projects are to create flexible systems that improve access to our programs and allow us to quickly adapt to our customer's needs. We’re working to provide more modern and personalized services to businesses and job seekers –things like online self-service and mobile technology that help them do business with us in convenient and secure ways. It is all about focusing what we do around what the businesses and workers we serve need.

Our new system, Frances, rolled out September of 2022 and allows small business owners and self-employed individuals to connect to their account by phone, tablet or computer in both English and Spanish. Customers can file their combined payroll report, including both unemployment insurance and Paid Leave contributions, using Frances Online. They can also quickly access and make changes to their account information, get answers to their questions, and submit secure messages to our staff. We are proud to have worked with the Department of Revenue to meet the most common request we heard from employers – to incorporate the Statewide Transit Tax filing into other filing processes so it is more convenient for employers. We did that early this year and continue to look for more ways to make things easier for Oregon businesses.

Beginning September 2023, business owners will have self-service options related to their employees’ Paid Leave benefits claims, including receiving and responding to claim notices and adjudication requests for information, and in March 2024, the system will support the same for unemployment insurance claims.

Looking ahead, we have already started on modernization of our workforce systems. By 2026, we will be rolling out updated and improved services that connect business owners with people looking for jobs.

ORLA, OREGON EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT

OREGON LOTTERY OFFERS TIPS FOR SAFE PLAY

Training the Secret to Safe Lottery Play

players out to manipulate someone with less experience. For instance, if a video slip isn’t validated correctly, a player may offer a slip that’s already been paid out in order to be paid a second time.

“Some people will try to make new staff uncomfortable,” he said. “People will take advantage, and it’s more common when there are new restaurant staff people.”

Elizabeth Ehlers, Oregon Lottery’s retail supervisor for Marion and Clackamas counties, says Lottery retailers should ask for payment up front before handing a player tickets.

“We’ve had a tactic used where the player will say they forgot something in the car or they left their wallet outside and they take off with tickets they didn’t pay for,” she explained.

Crime prevention

Retailers can also take proactive measures to deter crime by assessing their environment.

Oregon State Police Captain Tim Fox recommends retailers install security cameras and enhance lighting at entrances and exits.

“Often the areas where VLTs are located are dimly lit and employees don’t have visibility on activity in the gaming area,” he said. “Consider adding better lighting in these areas to make it safer for staff and players.”

As much as bartenders or staff may want to celebrate big wins with players, it can also draw unwanted attention. Fox said it’s best to not advertise how much a player has won, especially when a cash payout is involved.

Conduct regular cleanings

While the intensity of the pandemic may be behind us, retailers shouldn’t drop their guard on cleaning protocols. To protect staff and players, it’s recommended VLTs are cleaned more than once throughout the day, as players change over.

“Even when we were seeing COVID widespread in our communities, cleaning is something I had to constantly remind our business about,” Linkel said. “Think about

training your employees on the importance of cleaning when they are hired, so it’s an expectation from the start.”

Because Lottery equipment contains delicate electronics, businesses should follow the proper steps to avoid damaging them. For VLT touch screens, first place the machine in “Out of Service” mode, then proceed with the following:

• Dampen a cloth with an approved cleaning solution/disinfectant or wipe (isopropyl alcohol with no more than 70 percent alcohol or Clorox wipes are acceptable). Do not spray directly on the touch screen.

• Gently wipe down the entire touchscreen.

• Allow a few minutes for the cleaning/ disinfectant to saturate and work.

• Allow it to dry and remove any streaks with a non- abrasive cloth.

Abrasive cleaners, household bleach, and Formula 409 should not be used on VLTs.

MELANIE MESAROS, OREGON LOTTERY

INVESTING IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Your Oregon Hospitality Foundation is Hard at Work

Oregon’s Tourism and Hospitality industries have a unique opportunity to reconvene regional and statewide conversations to rebuild our industry’s workforce pipeline. Currently, too many tourism and hospitality employers are still struggling due to a severe shortage of available employees. Without course correction and longer term investments in our youth, the industry will fail to meet the expectations of consumers resulting in diminished returns for local, regional, and state government partners on a stable and growing lodging tax revenue stream made possible by Oregon’s guests staying in overnight accommodations.

The tourism and hospitality industry continues to lead the way in providing low barrier employment to individuals of all backgrounds while delivering on the promise of essential skills development. It remains true that experience in the tourism and hospitality industry propels individuals to stronger levels of career success as measured by total compensation. Whether you join our industry for a season

or a lifetime, the hospitality and tourism industries provide lasting professional benefits you carry with you.

Your Oregon Hospitality Foundation (OHF) professional staff stay focused on priorities defined by the OHF Board of Directors that includes but is not limited to:

• The management and development of culinary and management ProStart programs in Oregon’s high schools

• The rebirth of Tourism and Hospitality Management programming in Oregon’s high schools

• The coordination of industry guest speaking opportunities, job shadows, and experiential field trips in Oregon’s seven tourism regions in partnership with RDMOs

• Collaborative efforts with the Oregon Employment Department and Workforce Oregon to create job/career fairs as desired by industry employers.

Cementing our Place within Regional Workforce Development Boards

One major goal of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation is to secure the industry’s standing as a major sector in each of Oregon’s seven tourism regions through the utilization of data reports compiled by Lightcast. Currently two of Oregon’s nine regional workforce boards identify the tourism and hospitality industries in their work scope. The Oregon Hospitality Foundation plans to embark on the most intentional effort our industry has undertaken to secure our place within each regional workforce board structure through the full utilization of data. Our goal is to have the industry recognized by all nine regional workforce boards in the next two years.

Empowering RDMOs and DMOs

The Oregon Hospitality Foundation has every intention of fully leveraging the partnerships with the Destination Marketing Organizations and Regional Destination Marketing Organizations across Oregon. In addition, local Chambers of Commerce will prove vital to the ability of the Foundation to identify all current industry workforce development efforts while expanding our levels of success within each region.

While Oregon’s tourism and hospitality industries have made headway in reclaiming the narrative around the importance of industry jobs and careers in targeted tourism regions, there is more work to be done. We need industry members like you to remain engaged and help us continue the efforts to develop a strong and sustainable workforce. How can you help? There are plenty of ways you can play a role in helping introduce young and upcoming talent to different paths to success. Visit OregonRLA.org/prostart for more information or contact Courtney Smith at CSmith@OregonRLA.org. And don’t forget about the job fair opportunities at local high schools. You can contact Lupe Arellano at LArellano@OregonRLA.org for more information.

SAFETY & SECURITY

Rob Hoover, VP of business development for Fournier Group’s Hospitality Insurance Program (HIP)

Protect Your Employees, Customers and Business

Keeping your guests, employees and business safe is more challenging than ever. Mass shootings are on the rise, as are natural disasters such as forest fires and floods. Drug use and crime has soared in many communities, and new threats are coming over the internet in droves. But there’s some hope. There are several proactive steps you can take to help protect your people, property, and data from harm. The association continually seeks out industry expertise from partners, local and national organizations, and agencies who are well versed in how to prepare for and/or address these types of issues in order to help mitigate the impacts on your business.

One of the major challenges facing businesses right now comes not at a storefront or in a lobby, but over the internet. Cybersecurity is a real threat — and Rob Hoover, VP of business development for Fournier Group’s Hospitality Insurance Program, cautions business owners not to think they’re too small for a bad actor to target. Companies of all sizes are increasingly becoming the victim of email scams, websites takeovers, personal information theft and other cybercrimes.

Right now, one of the biggest threats is business email compromise, and it can take several forms. Hackers will sometimes email a company’s bookkeeper in the name of an employee and ask to have their payroll direct deposit routed to a different account. Businesses involved in real estate transactions or remodels may receive emails that purportedly come from a bank employee and offer wire transfer information, except the bank details route to an illicit account. Hoover recently had a client who paid $100,000 intended for restaurant equipment to a cybercriminal.

To avoid getting caught in scams like these, “the easiest thing is to pick up the phone when anything changes and verify that person really sent the email and asked for the change,” said Hoover. Also, “anytime somebody says, ‘this is urgent, you have to pay right now,’ that should be a red flag. Just pause and make sure the request is legitimate.”

It's critical to train employees not to click on links or open email attachments unless they’re certain they know who they’re from. “That’s also a way for potential scammers to link into your system,” Hoover said. Even if nothing happens immediately, bad actors may lurk for months before releasing ransomware or other bugs. Even if scammers breach seemingly innocuous systems because computers are linked through networks, they can very easily gain access to financial and other information.

Employees should also be required to create strong passwords, said Theresa Masse, Oregon’s cybersecurity state coordinator with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “Use a unique password only you know. Don’t use PASSWORD or 123456. Use passwords with 11 or more characters and get creative with them,” she recommended.

Along with having cyber best practices in place, Masse recommends businesses have a cyber incident response plan and exercise it yearly, so every employee understands their respective role. CISA has a free online tool to help with this, as well as a variety of other resources to help businesses become cyber resilient. The agency can also develop and present free cybersecurity exercises for industries.

Hoover advises individuals to be careful what information they share through social media and other online sources. “Don’t put the

answers to common verification questions, such as your mother’s maiden name, online,” he said. It’s also best to avoid social media quizzes that claim to help you get to know your friends better; they’re often designed to elicit information that’s useful to hackers.

Another proactive measure hospitality companies can take is setting up multifactor authentication on their systems. “Multifactor authentication is quickly becoming a must for any type of cyber liability protection,” Hoover said, because it is so effective against hackers. Good firewalls to keep out attacks add another layer of protection to information systems.

Masse recommends that businesses ensure software is up to date, which will also keep security fixes updated, and back up systems and data regularly in case it gets stolen. If the company uses cloud services, the agency has best practices for implementing strong safety controls. It also offers free cyber hygiene services, including vulnerability scanning, to help reduce exposure to threats.

All these safeguards really do make a difference. Hoover has a hospitality client who recently came very close to having a major data breach. That client upgraded their firewall, implemented multifactor authentication, and separated the public Wi-Fi from the office Wi-Fi, another industry best practice. “In December, he told me his firewall was blocking an average of 60,000 to 70,000 penetrations a week,” he said.

Firms that have credit card or other data stolen must comply with state law in notifying customers. Carrying cyberinsurance can aid with the cost of doing so. It can also pay for a public relations firm to help with fallout if needed, and cover some expenses designed to upgrade systems and avoid similar incidents in the future. But preventing such an attack is always better. “Don’t underestimate the risk, and don’t be blindsided by an event,” said Hoover. “Take proactive measures for your business.”

As heartbreaking mass shootings continue to happen around the country, businesses are tasked with the difficult job of training front workers on how to respond to a potential mass casualty event. Tom Wilder, Oregon’s protective security advisor with CISA, likes to begin any active shooter training with a reminder that even though businesses that are open to the public seem more susceptible to entry by someone with malicious intent, these are still rare occurrences.

“Being informed is a crucial first step in helping prevent a tragedy,” said Wilder. “It starts with understanding the signs of someone in distress. Recognize behaviors that could be paths to violence, including hostile speech, violent drawings and writings, threats to fellow employees, and overreactions to workplace changes.”

Next, focus on what to do in an active shooter situation. Professionals typically advise “run, hide, fight” as a strategy. If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to leave the facility. Have an escape route in mind and help others run to safety.

When leaving the building isn’t possible, find a secure location to hide. Make sure that location is out of the shooter’s view, provides some protection against bullets (such as a door) and not limit options for future movement. If there is no way to escape danger, try and disarm the shooter, Wilder said. Acting aggressively toward the person, throwing objects at them, or yelling to distract them may save others’ lives even if you can’t save your own.

While these situations are usually very unpredictable in nature and can evolve extremely quickly, CISA does offer several active shooter resources and training online to help provide some awareness and preparation tactics; see details in the sidebar.

Safety and Security Resources

CYBERSECURITY

• Cybersecurity Training & Exercises (CISA): CISA.gov/cybersecurity-training-exercises

• Cyber Hygiene Services: bit.ly/CISAhygiene

• Defend Against Attackers Targeting Cloud Services: bit.ly/CISAcloud

ACTIVE SHOOTER AND DE-ESCALATION TRAINING

• Active Shooter Preparedness (CISA): bit.ly/CISAast

• De-escalation Series Materials: bit.ly/CISAde-escalate

NATURAL DISASTER PREPARATION

• American Red Cross Training & Certifications: Redcross.org

• Always Ready: Natural Disasters (NRA): bit.ly/NRAalwaysready

• Hazards Preparedness for Businesses (OEM): bit.ly/OEMbizprep

• Prepare Your Workers: 2 Weeks Ready (OEM): bit.ly/2wksready

• Preparedness Checklist for Businesses (OEM): bit.ly/OEMprepcheck

OTHER RESOURCES

• Downtown Portland Clean & Safe: 503.388.3888 | Downtownportland.org

• No Room for Trafficking: AHLAFoundation.org/human-trafficking

• Human Trafficking Prevention Training: AAHOA.com/resources/human-trafficking

Natural disasters are also on the rise and are something businesses must prepare for. Oregon is prone to a number of natural disasters, including wildfires, flooding, landslides, even windstorms and other types of low-pressure systems, said Sonya McCormick, public private partnership program manager for the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM). These types of disasters can bring about anything from property to supply chain disruptions and even loss of life.

To begin preparing, McCormick recommends reviewing the free checklist on the OEM website. At four pages, it is very comprehensive and helps owners think through a range of issues. If you suddenly can’t buy inventory from your typical vendors, where else might you purchase critical goods? Where can you find backup workers if your employees suddenly can’t make it to work? Do you have all of your necessary files backed up in a place where you can access them if you can’t get to your office?

McCormick also hopes businesses will help employees prepare themselves and their families for a disaster. “If something happens, we’re family first,” she pointed out. “We have to take care of our families in order to report to work.”

Oregon’s 2 Weeks Ready program guides people through preparing an emergency plan and kit in case they lack access to food, water,

and other necessities for up to two weeks. It also contains details about preparing a “go bag” to grab if you know a disaster is coming. The bag should include a change of clothes, medication, food and water, and other things to sustain you until you can find help. It’s smart to have one at work, one in the car and one at home.

Knowledge is power, especially in an emergency. Make sure your cell phone has emergency alerts enabled and know the evacuation routes in your neighborhood and community. Put an evacuation plan in place and practice with your employees and neighbors. McCormick also encourages business owners to get familiar with OEM’s program, which exists to help private-sector partners navigate supply chain and other challenges during a natural disaster.

To further help businesses prepare for emergencies, including mass casualty events, OEM recently launched an online Private Sector Preparedness, Response and Recovery monthly seminar series on mass casualty impact and recovery. The series runs from March through November. Each session lasts 90 minutes and is recorded. More information about the webinars is available on the OEM website. For anyone looking to take further steps toward preparing their business, they can reach out to Sonya McCornick at Sonya.mccormick@oem.oregon.gov or call her at 503.378.8223.

Portland has faced numerous safety challenges in the past few years. A policy allowing homeless camping on sidewalks and other public areas, plus the prolific drug problem, have led to crime and property damage for many hotels and restaurants.

One of the ways the city has sought to address those issues is by contracting with enhanced service districts such as Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing enhanced public safety, janitorial, retail, and economic development to the core of downtown Portland. The group contracts public safety coordinators who are certified security guards and can respond 24/7 to a range of non-emergency situations, from a person sleeping in a doorway to an individual shouting on a street corner.

Executive Director Mark Wells refers to the program as a mix of security and social services. “We’re not the police,” he emphasized. “We can make contact, talk to people, and offer services. If they don’t want to talk to us, we disengage.” If the situation turns into a police matter, they can quickly and directly reach police officers and request a response. Security personnel are available 24 hours a day and also do things like walk people to their car after work if they’re worried about their safety.

Downtown Portland Clean and Safe’s other focus is a janitorial program managed in collaboration with the housing and social services organization Central City Concern. The program provides enhanced cleaning and sanitation, takes on community-building projects like putting up holiday lights in downtown and functions as job training through Central City Concern’s Clean Start program for people who were experiencing homelessness, formerly incarcerated or are in different stages of recovery.

Wells gives a few examples of how the program makes an impact. When hotels have people coming into town to examine their facilities — for example, when the NCAA came to Portland to determine whether it would host the annual basketball tournament in town — Portland Downtown Clean and Safe’s janitorial crew made sure the area around those hotels was as clean as possible. Organizers for the Portland Lunar Parade were very worried about safety, especially in the face of recent attacks on Asian Americans.

Downtown Portland Clean and Safe helped the organization develop a safety plan, contacted campers and others to ask them to move away from the parade route, and provided support staff during the gathering.

Downtown Portland Clean and Safe’s newest initiative is the Community Health Outreach Worker (CHOW) program, managed in partnership with the nonprofit Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers. Two full-time community street outreach workers will be able “to do the work we’ve been doing organically and really put those efforts on steroids by working on mental health and homeless,” he said. “Once we can find a place for someone to go, our CHOW worker will be their case manager, drive them where they need to go, sit with them through intake and do whatever they need to have the best chance of success in getting off the street.”

Portland business owners have been through a really tough three years, Wells acknowledged, but he’s optimistic that things are beginning to turn around. “I’ve seen more momentum and hope since November than I’ve seen in the past two years I’ve been at this job,” he said. “We still have a lot of huge challenges, but I’ve never seen the level of private sector and city collaboration as high as it is now.”

Now, Wells said, it’s time to begin changing the narrative about the area. “I’ve been politely challenging people — if you haven’t been downtown in two years, come downtown and see what it’s like. People still have tough questions about what’s happening, but people are asking those questions because they want to come downtown.” As individuals return to in-person work, which many businesses are pushing for, that will further change the dynamics of the area and start to bring people back to restaurants and other businesses as well.

Not every city has the ability to create an enhanced service district such as this one, but it provides a concrete illustration that planning and community are critical to the safety of your business. Gather the resources you have available and get going on a plan to help you avoid potential threats and disasters when you can and be prepared to deal with problems when they are unavoidable. 

SOPHIA BENNETT

Mark Wells, Executive Director Downtown Portland Clean & Safe

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOWNTOWN PORTLAND CLEAN & SAFE

NEW COMPLIANCE ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Effective January 1, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of Treasury will implement new “beneficial ownership” reporting requirements that will have a significant impact on the restaurant and lodging industry and could impose significant compliance costs. The new regulations, which implement the Corporate Transparency Act of 2020, are intended to ensure that law enforcement investigations are not stymied by the government’s inability to determine who owns or controls legal entities involved in criminal activity by addressing the lack of any centralized U.S. beneficial ownership registry.

Many businesses in the Pacific Northwest will be surprised to find that the breadth of FinCEN’s regulations means that they soon will need to report detailed information about their businesses and their owners and officers to the federal government.

Who must report?

FinCEN estimates that this new requirement will impose reporting obligations on tens of millions of businesses, plus the more than two million new entities that are formed each year. The regulations impose federal filing requirements on “domestic reporting companies,” among other entities. A domestic reporting company generally includes any private entity, such as an Oregon corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, that does not meet one of the specific exemptions set out by FinCEN. Most restaurants and hotels will not be eligible for the exemptions created for 23 types of legal entities. A business may qualify for exemption as a “large operating company” if the business employs more than 20 full-time employees and takes in more than $5 million in gross receipts from its U.S. operations, as shown on its federal income tax return.

What information must be reported?

Among other things, the regulation requires reporting companies to file identifying information about the reporting company’s “beneficial owners.” The term “beneficial owner” means any individual who directly or indirectly exercises substantial control over a company or owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests in the company. “Substantial control” is defined broadly and will capture many executive officers of Oregon businesses. The term includes senior officers and those individuals who have authority to appoint or remove any senior officer or a majority of the board of directors, as well as individuals who have substantial influence over other important matters affecting the company.

With respect to each “beneficial owner,” a reporting company must report: (i) the full legal name of the individual; (ii) the individual’s date of birth; (iii) a unique identifying number from a government issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport; and (iv) a scanned copy of the government issued ID that includes a photograph of the individual.

When does this regulation take effect?

Fortunately, this new regulation will not become effective until January 1, 2024. Any reporting company that was formed prior to that effective date—such as Oregon companies that are currently operating—will have until January 1, 2025 to file their initial report with FinCEN. Any reporting company formed after January 1, 2024 will have 30 days to submit an initial report to FinCEN. Companies will have to file updates with FinCEN within 30 days of a change in their beneficial ownership information. Thus,

companies will need to continuously monitor pertinent beneficial ownership details.

What should Oregon companies do to prepare for this new regulation?

This new FinCEN rule is likely to require a major compliance undertaking for some reporting companies, particularly entities with complex ownership structures that do not qualify for an exemption. Oregon companies can take certain steps to prepare and hopefully reduce the burden and urgency of completing these FinCEN reports:

• Determine whether your company is a “domestic reporting company” or if you qualify for an exemption under the regulation.

• Determine which of your owners qualify as “beneficial owners” who will need to be included in your filing. Note that determining ownership can involve some complexities because ownership or control may arise through joint ownership (e.g., with a spouse), through control of an intermediary entity that owns the underlying business, or through a trust.

• Determine which of your officers exercises “substantial control” over your business and will need to be included in your filing.

• Consider whether your business needs to form any entities in advance of January 1, 2024, as reporting companies formed after that date will have only 30 days to file an initial report with FinCEN.

• Develop processes for monitoring beneficial ownership information on an ongoing basis to ensure ongoing compliance with the regulation. Non-compliance can result in penalties, fines, and reputational damage.  JESSE M. KOBERNICK, MILLER NASH LLP

ABOUT

Jesse M. Kobernick is an attorney with Miller Nash LLP and represents clients throughout the Pacific Northwest on a wide range of complex business transactional matters. He also advises clients on corporate governance, commercial agreements, securities law compliance, and debt and equity offerings. Jesse can be reached by phone at 360.619.7023 or by email at jesse.kobernick@millernash.com.

PREVENTING SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS – WHAT YOU CAN DO

Reduce Liability Risk and Protect Staff and Customers Using Root Cause Analysis.

We’ve all fallen—it’s a universal human experience. Most of the time, falls are no big deal and result in only a chuckle or maybe a bruised ego. But sometimes, the result of a fall can be a devastating injury. That risk is of particular concern for workers, guests, and owners in the hospitality sector. Nationwide, more than three million restaurant workers and over one million guests are injured annually as a result of slips, trips, and falls. According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), the hospitality industry spends over $2 billion on such injuries each year and the rate of these injuries is increasing 10 percent annually. Of course, that does not include the billions lost due to legal liability, business interruption, reduced productivity, and increased insurance rates.

In Oregon, premises liability accidents are the number one cause of emergency room visits, and the average cost of such visits exceeds $28,000. But the costs can be much higher. In 2016, an Oregon jury awarded an 85 year-old-man $1.6 million after he slipped and fell in a supermarket.

Investigate

What can be done to protect your guests, employees, and yourself? When a fall occurs, thoroughly investigate and, if possible, correct the cause. To investigate accidents, safety professionals use root cause analysis, and you can too. Put simply, the goal of root cause analysis is to determine what happened, figure out why and find out how to prevent the incident from reoccurring. The first step is to gather information and carefully document what happened. With a fall, that means talking to witnesses, examining the scene, and taking photos as soon as

possible after the accident. Next, brainstorm possible causal factors that could have contributed to the fall. A targeted root cause analysis divides these into three types: internal factors, external factors and operational (or systems) factors.

Internal factors are risks specific to an individual. Maybe the person has poor sensation in their feet or weak legs, maybe their vision is impaired, or they are under the influence intoxicants. External factors could include poor lighting, obstacles, a slippery floor, or a crumpled mat. Operational factors may include deferred maintenance, inadequate staff training or lack of staffing to address immediate maintenance needs such as a spill.

After looking at all contributing factors from these three areas and determining the most significant, prepare a list of possible preventive solutions to address them. Determine which solutions are worth implementing from a cost-benefit perspective and put those into action. When it comes to falls, internal factors may be the most difficult to address. However, recognizing and anticipating these risks is a great start. For example, training staff to carefully observe guests and offer appropriate seating or other accommodations. This might include alerting guests to steps or other potential obstacles or avoiding these altogether if their mobility is limited.

External and operational factors are much more readily addressed because they are often within our control. Examples of common external factors contributing to falls include slippery and poorly maintained flooring and steps, lack of handrails, and inadequate lighting. Ensuring walkways are cleared and well-lit are examples

Photo: Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian

Create a Culture of Food Safety

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.

> Register Online for In-Person Classes at OregonRLA.org/ServSafe <

APRIL 2023:

Monday, April 3 • Wilsonville

Monday, April 24 • Wilsonville

Monday, April 24 • Eugene

Must register ten business days prior to class in order to receive pre-study materials. Materials are sent after payment is received. Quickest registration is online at OregonRLA.org/ServSafe, or mail your completed form and payment to: Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, 8565 SW Salish Lane, Suite 120, Wilsonville, OR, 97070.

ON-SITE PRIVATE CLASS:

MAY 2023:

Monday, May 8 • Wilsonville

Monday, May 22 • Wilsonville

Monday, May 22 • Eugene

If you have 20 or more employees for the ServSafe course (and you have a classroom setting) we can provide the trainer at no additional cost! Call ORLA for details at 503.682.4422.

Payment includes ServSafe book and exam. No refunds. Registrant may reschedule (up to six months later), or transfer registration (with book) to another person. Re-test option available for those who have taken an ORLA class and did not pass the exam. Questions? Call 503.682.4422 or visit ORLATraining.org

COMMITMENT TO WORKPLACE SAFETY

Safety Isn't Just Good for Your Workers, It's Good Business

AND

HEALTH

We know you want your employees to go home injuryfree at the end of each shift. That’s why this whole magazine issue is dedicated to workplace safety. SAIF is here to help.

Our vision is to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. That starts with every workplace, including restaurants and hotels. I’m so proud of the work our team does each day to help our policyholders.

Safety culture is critical to ensuring our workers and workplaces stay safe. Safety is also good business. By preventing injuries from happening, you keep claims costs down.

There are many ways to make your workplace safer today. These include:

• Providing ongoing safety training, including new employee orientation

• Ensuring workers have the right equipment and enough resources to do the job safely.

• Maintaining open lines of communication

• Creating a process for workers to report and resolve issues

To help you enhance your safety program, SAIF has extensive safety resources on our website in English and Spanish at saif.com/kitchensafety. This includes free trainings, videos, posters,

and talking points available for businesses of any size (you don’t have to be a SAIF policyholder).

One component of keeping workplaces safe is having enough employees to get the job done. Creating a safe workplace can help differentiate your business in today’s difficult labor market. Recruiting and retention is easier when you have a strong safety culture. We know workers want to work where their well-being is top-of-mind.

When it comes to hiring, many of our policyholders don’t have immediate access to HR and legal counseling. We’ve developed free resources—including recent webinars on recruiting, hiring, and retention available for replay—at saif.com/HR

With 67 safety and health experts, SAIF has built the largest network of workplace safety professionals of any insurance carrier in Oregon, and we’re standing by to help. If you’re a policyholder, you can get in touch with us directly by contacting your safety management consultant or our safety services team directly at safetyservices@saif.com.

Just like ORLA, we are here to help Oregon’s restaurant and lodging employers. If you have any questions or want to learn more, visit saif.com/kitchensafety  CHIP TERHUNE, PRESIDENT & CEO, SAIF CORPORATION

PHOTO FROM SAIF'S KITCHEN SAFETY SHOWDOWN VIDEO / saif.com/kitchensafety

CHECK-IN ON INCENTIVES FOR EQUIPMENT UPGRADES THAT WILL IMPROVE GUEST COMFORT AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS

Get cash incentives for installing energy-efficient pool heaters, ice makers, laundry washers, in-room heat pumps and more. Energy-efficient equipment will save you money on energy costs and provide guests with a consistent, comfortable stay. Learn more at www.energytrust.org/lodging.

GETTING READY TO SELL?

5 Attributes That Enhance Business Value in Sale

The last couple of years have been quite a ride for hospitality industry entrepreneurs with COVID-19, staffing shortages, supply chain obstacles, and urban issues in the Rose City. If you have successfully made it through the storm and are operating profitably in 2023 you deserve respect and admiration as a business owner. The two most common motivations we hear from our clients at IBA, the oldest business brokerage firm in Oregon, for selling a business are a desire to retire or move on to a new project or career path. In an effort to help entrepreneurs exit at the highest possible value the following five attributes are shared which have consistently demonstrated to enhance business value at time of sale.

1.Transparent, Comprehensive Financial Documentation – At its core the decision to purchase a business is an investment decision. All business buyers seek to maintain or increase historical business profit and make money on the acquisition. The ability to obtain a comprehensive understanding of revenue streams and expenses makes a business more attractive. In most cases, documentation will be reviewed by the buyer, their CPA, and a bank and/ or investors. All three parties need to endorse a deal, or it will fail. The most important documentation in a sale are the federal tax returns filed with the IRS. A filed 2022 return is recommended prior to going to market in 2023.

2. Long Term Lease or Real Estate - Next to profitability and financial stability the most valuable asset a hospitality business can have is location security. If a business owner also owns the property, the ability to acquire both assets simultaneously is likely to enhance value. If the business operates out of a leased space, the longer the lease, including extension options, the higher the value that will be paid for the entity. Insider Fact: If an SBA loan is being used to acquire the business, the term of the lease will need to match the term of the loan. Most 7A SBA loans are ten years in term.

3. Staff Infrastructure – The businesses that sell at the highest values against comparable establishments have experienced, quality staff in place. The restaurants that sell at discounts have ownership wearing too many hats and working long hours. Ask yourself are you working on or in your business? If you are selling, you want

the answer to be on the business with the ability for it to operate successfully if you take a vacation or are away.

4. A Unique Market Offering – Customers vote positively with their dollars for products and services that differentiate themselves in the market. In Portland, there is frequently a line outside of Voodoo Doughnut, despite donuts being readily available in many other locations, and a full dining room at the Ringside Steakhouse, even on a Monday night (I know this as a fact because eight IBA business brokers recently celebrated a sale there in February on that day of the week). It is important to be able to convey to the market and buyers your “Why?” Why do they come to your food and beverage establishment and what motivates them to return, hopefully again and again.

5. Online Reviews – How do you pick a restaurant in an unfamiliar place? The most common practice is to assess online reviews. Do you pick the business with one review or many? Do you pick the place with a 2.3 cumulative review rating or 4.4? If customers are reviewing online comments about a food and beverage establishment prior to making a purchasing decision, you can be sure a buyer thinking about purchasing the entire entity will do the same thing. If you have not encouraged your customers to leave reviews in places like Google and Yelp, it is prudent to do it prior to going to market to sell your business. You only have one opportunity to make a first impression on a potential buyer. That impression needs to be positive whether they enter your business, dine on your cuisine, or take a look at what people are saying about you online.

IBA has been successfully selling businesses in Oregon since 1975. We welcome the opportunity to be a resource to ORLA members. All communication is held in strict confidence and 100 percent of our fees are performance based. Reach out if you are interested in learning more about preparing for a sale.

Joseph Hollcraft, IBA’s representative for ORLA, can be reached at 503.739.4880 and joseph@ibainc.com. Gregory Kovsky, IBA’s President & CEO, whose first job was washing dishes and serving as a prep cook at Beef & Brew on Canyon Road can be contacted at the same number and gregory@ibainc.com.

 JOSEPH HOLLCRAFT, IBA

PHOTO COURTESY OF IBA

 Announcement: Industry announcements

 Events: Industry and association activities

 Industry Offers: Sponsored messages, deals and discounts

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.

RESTAURANT INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Hiring Demand in Oregon

The following data is provided by the Oregon Hospitality Foundation and Lightcast. Lightcast data is a hybrid dataset derived from official government sources such as the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. The following illustrates the demand for staffing in full-service restaurants in Oregon.

574 EMPLOYERS COMPETING

NEWS BRIEFS

Happenings From Around the Industry

ORLA CEO Named President of National Council

This past February, the Council of State Restaurant Associations (CSRA) welcomed this year’s 2023 Board of Directors and Executive Committee, naming ORLA’s CEO Jason Brandt as President of the Council. CSRA helps foster collaboration, connection, and coordination among its 52 state restaurant association members and works in partnership with the National Restaurant Association to support more than 675,000 restaurant businesses across the United States. With Jason’s leadership, CSRA will continue their hard work supporting collective efforts in government relations, member services, workforce development, and education foundation support.

State of the Industry Reports Released

The National Restaurant Association released its 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry report, which examines key factors impacting the industry including the current state of the economy, operations, workforce, and food and menu trends to forecast sales and market trends for the year ahead. Key findings include: Sales are forecast to reach $997B, up from $937B in 2022, and the entire foodservice industry is forecast to add 500K jobs to reach 15.5M in 2023.

AHLA published its 2023 State of the Hotel Industry report, forecasting the hotel industry to surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand, nominal room revenue and state and local tax revenue, while inching closer to other key 2019 performance metrics. You can find these resources and more in the ORLA Member Portal by logging in to OregonRLA.org

Capitol Day & Taste Oregon Success

Hospitality is Working Campaign Promotes Hotel Jobs

AHLA affiliate Hospitality is Working recently launched an ad campaign highlighting the unprecedented career opportunities hotels are offering. The campaign includes television and digital advertising as well as AHLA events happening around the country alongside local hoteliers, economic development organizations and community groups. Hospitality is Working showcases the broad range of benefits hotels provide the communities they serve while highlighting the industry’s strong commitment to investing in its workforce, providing quality career opportunities, and protecting employees and guests. To view Portland’s ad visit https://bit.ly/HWPDX

Over 300 Oregon hospitality industry members, state agency representatives, legislators and staff participated in a day of activities supporting Oregon's hospitality industry. The Capitol Day Assembly kicked off with several discussions on industry-related issues and attendees engaged with questions for invited representatives from state agencies including Oregon Employment Department, Paid Leave Oregon, Oregon Lottery, and BOLI. The day culminated with the Taste Oregon Legislative Reception co-hosted by ORLA and AAHOA and presented by DoorDash. A huge thank you to the restaurant and beverage companies who provided great tastes including South Salem High School’s Culinary Program.

WHAT YOUR PEERS ARE SAYING

Meet Some Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Members

Membership 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 what they have learned about working in hospitality, and their thoughts on security and safety. And for a little fun, we also wanted to know about their favorite books and what their first paying job was.

GET TO KNOW SOME OF YOUR PEERS BY READING

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.

What does your company do to ensure a safe environment for employees and customers?

What have you learned about working in hospitality?

BRENNA LEECH

Eugene Lodge and International Hostel, Eugene

Title: Owner/Operator

Joined the Company: 2022

Member Since: 2022

First paying job: Soccer Referee

Fav book: The Body Keeps the Score

What is one thing you have learned about working in the hospitality industry?

The customer is NOT always right; your staff is ALWAYS more important. Happy staff = killer atmosphere. Work for your staff, and everything will work out.

KATHLEEN (KATIE) McCARRON

Portland Pet Food Company, Portland

Title: Top Dog

Started the Company: 2014

Member Since: 2022

First paying job: Ticket seller/Circus Vargas

Fav book: The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

What is one thing you have learned about working in the hospitality industry?

As a former hotel front desk employee and now hospitality supplier, I have learned that it takes teamwork, empathy, flexibility and innovation to meet consumers' needs.

CHRISSY OUELLETTE

SpotOn, Greenville, SC

Title: VP of Business Development

Joined the Company: 2019

Member Since: 2022

First paying job: Car Hop, Sonic Drive-In

Fav book: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

What is one thing you have learned about working in the hospitality industry?

It is hard, hospitality has many people to please and satisfy. You have to be a cameleon.

What is one thing your company does to ensure a safe environment for your employees / customers?

SpotOn is focused on providing the best technology to its restaurant customers so that they can provide a safe and secure environment for staff and customers.

TYLER YOUNG

VersiTech, LLC, Clackamas

Title: CEO & Founder

Joined the Company: 2017

Member Since: 2018

First paying job: Picked Blueberries

Fav book: Hire with Your Head

What is one thing you have learned about working in the hospitality industry? Working in hospitality taught me that hospitality isn't just about taking care of guests, it's about taking care of each other.

MATTHEW HARRISON

Scout Septic, Grease & Drain, Boring

Title: Owner

Started the Company: 2011

Member Since: 2022

First paying job: Paperboy Fav book: Outliers

What does your company do to ensure a safe environment?

We are focused on cleanliness. Specifically, the garbage area of restaurants and keeping oil containers clean. This goes a long way to prevent slips, trips & falls.

KATIE SHAW

Buoy Beer Company/Pilot House

Distilling, Astoria

Title: Hospitality Director

Joined the Company: 2014

Member Since: 2016

First paying job: Drive thru coffee

Fav book: Anything by Jody Picoult

What is one thing you have learned about working in the hospitality industry?

I have learned to be patient and kind. A smile goes a long way. Never know what someone is going through.

NIKKI HAEBLER, CSP

Safety Northwest, LLC, Portland

Title: Co-Owner

Joined the Company: 2013

Member Since: 2012

First paying job: Camp Counselor

Fav book: True crime quick reads

What does your company do to ensure a safe environment?

As Safety Consultants, we help other companies improve their safety culture and stay in compliance, so your employees go home safe each day.

YOUR NAME HERE

Tell your peers about yourself! Would you like to be profiled in the next issue of Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association magazine? Reach out to Lori Little at LLittle@OregonRLA.org

Not yet a member? By banding together we make Oregon's hospitality industry stronger. Visit OregonRLA.org/membership to see the many benefits of membership and join today!

HOW CAN WE SERVE YOU?

Membership in ORLA means being a part of the only organization in the state devoted to protecting and promoting the interests of the entire hospitality industry. Contact us for questions; let us know what issues are affecting your business and how we can help. We have your back!

MEMBERSHIP CONTACTS:

STEVEN SCARDINA

Regional Representative

503.718.1495

SScardina@OregonRLA.org

TERRY HOPKINS

Regional Representative

541.441.2219

THopkins@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

MAKENZIE MARINEAU GA and Regional Leadership Teams Coordinator

541.404.0033

MMarineau@OregonRLA.org

GLENDA HAMSTREET Executive Coordinator

Government Affairs

971.224.1509

GHamstreet@OregonRLA.org

OREGON RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSOCIATION MAIN OFFICE: 503.682.4422 • info@OregonRLA.org

MEMBER SOLUTIONS

Save Time and Money with ORLA’s Cost-Saving Member Programs | OregonRLA.org

PREFERRED PARTNERS

WORKERS’ COMP INSURANCE

ORLA’s group program with SAIF affords members an additional 10% premium discount if they meet the eligibility requirements.

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.

CREDIT CARD PROCESSING

ORLA Members get a discounted flat swiped rate of 2.3% + .05 a transaction, plus additional fees waived and tools to run your business more efficiently.

PHHOSPITALITY BUSINESS INSURANCE:HIP

ORLA Members receive a free audit of insurance and risk management programs and can save an average of 10-15%.

NATIONAL PARTNERS

MUSIC LICENSING

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

MUSIC LICENSING

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

HOSPITALITY PARTNERS

Find additional member-to-member exclusive cost-saving offers and benefits aimed at improving your bottom line online at OregonRLA.org/hospitality-partners

• Asesso Capital

• Garth T. Rouse & Associates

• HR Annie Consulting

• My Accounting Team

• Oregonian | OregonLive

NEW MEMBERS

ORLA Would Like To Welcome The Following New Members From November 2022 – January 2023

• The Allison Inn & Spa, Newberg

• Best Western Cottage Grove Inn, Cottage Grove

• Clementine's Guest House & Vacation

Rentals, Astoria

• Comfort Inn, Roseburg

• Countryside Pizza, Veneta

• Eat An Oyster Bar, Portland

• Flights Wine Bar, LLC, Bend

• Fultano's Pizza Parlours, Canby

• Gravy, Portland

• Green Springs Inn & Cabins, Ashland

• Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce

• Holst Architecture, Inc., Portland

• Hunan Pearl Cuisine, Lake Oswego

• Inevitable Hospitality, Gladstone

• International Business Associates (IBA), Portland

• KEXY, San Diego, CA

• Lost Creek, Vancouver, WA

• Metis, Walla Walla

• Oakridge Inn & Suites, Oakridge

• PanelView RV Park, Hermiston

• Red Fox Motel, Estacada

• Red Roof Inn & Suites, Medford

• Restaurant Beck, Depoe Bay

• Riverview Lodge, Hood River

• Sea Ranch Resort, Cannon Beach

• Silverton Inn & Suites, Silverton

• Springhill Suites Medford Airport, Medford

• Steamboat Inn, Idleyld Park

• Stoller Family Estate, Dayton

• University Inn & Suites, Eugene

• Whistling Winds Motel, Lincoln City