About Us
Vision
To be the voice for the lodging industry in Vermont.
Mission
VLA is a volunteer-driven and member-funded advocacy group. We retain a professional and experienced lobbying firm to represent the Vermont lodging industry; serve as the spokesperson for our industry; and provide educational, networking, and other resources to help a diverse membership of licensed Vermont lodging properties succeed.
History
The Story Behind the Vermont Lodging Association
On March 25, 2020, the Governor of Vermont closed all lodging operations in the state due to the Covid pandemic. All the media coverage seemed focused on the difficulty of our restaurant friends with almost no recognition of the impact on the lodging industry.
It was then in the early days of Covid that a handful of innkeepers, from large resorts to small inns, got together to break through the chaos. In a few short weeks we raised the awareness of the plight of lodging through private meetings with key leaders including Governor Scott, Senator Patrick Leahy, Representative Peter Welch, and members of the Vermont Department of Health. At the Governor's request, members of our group helped create lodging protocols for Covid-19 restart. We also worked to exert significant influence on Governor Scott’s re-instatement of online bookings in June 2020.
Working endless hours lobbying for Covid relief for lodging, our ad-hoc team (then called the Vermont Lodging Coalition) then teamed with the Vermont Inn and Bed and Breakfast Association (VIBBA) to better connect with the needs of smaller properties and to gain critical infrastructure support.
Through the generous support of 60 lodging properties, we raised the seed money to hire a professional lobbyist, Downs Rachlin Martin (DRM), to fight for grant relief during the 2020 legislative session.
In addition, DRM worked tirelessly to maximize the amount of Covid relief grant money operators received for your property. We influenced two rounds of business relief funding for a total of $233.7 million, including an additional $75 million targeted specifically to lodging and restaurants.
In December 2020, the leadership of the Vermont Lodging Coalition (that initial grass roots group) and VIBBA voted unanimously to merge to form the VERMONT LODGING ASSOCIATION — the only state-wide organization dedicated solely to supporting lodging properties and the backbone of the Vermont lodging industry and Vermont economy.
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