LendingCon ’25
17
www.asianhospitality.com
September 2025 | Issue 240
little fun, to go out and spend the money,
buy a new car, buy some appliances, go to
Orlando, visit many of the parks that are
here,” Loudermilk said.
Congress also needs to help cut the cost
of businesses as well, he said.
“When we're not taxing overtime, there
is a built in incentive for your employees
that you already have to work more.
I mean, these are employees that are
already trained. They're already getting
the benefits. They're already on your
payroll. Now they have a real incentive to
work overtime, work extra time, which
could effectively cut your cost, but it also
improves morale,” Loudermilk said.
The Federal Reserve’s decision last
month to keep interest rates at around
4.5 percent also affects the hospitality
industry, Loudermilk said. He expects at
least a moderate reduction in the rates by
September.
“We need to have interest rates
to where businesses can invest. But
the other thing is, we've got to have
confidence that the economy is strong,
and by lowering the interest rates, I
believe it's going to give consumers more
confidence,” Loudermilk said.
Soto said Democrats have several
concerns about recent policy shifts
brought in by Trump and the Republican
controlled Congress.
“We have deep concerns about threats
to Obamacare, Medicaid, SNAP, Pell
Grants, clean energy, all these things that
a lot of us in Central
Florida hold dear,”
Soto said. “Where
it affects a lot of
the hotel industry
is employer-based
health care. When
you have a rise in
uninsured rates,
employer based
plans go through the
roof.”
He indicated
that that the
administration’s
immigration
crackdown is one
reason behind
negative jobs reports.
“Here in Florida, we have a million
people who are about to lose their legal
immigration status between Venezuelans,
Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and
others. They are legally here. They're
working right now, many of them in
our local hotels and tourism industry,
construction,” Soto said. “These are
things that believe me, it seems every
day we try to limit the tariffs and try to
have some sense in who's staying in the
country and who's leaving, but this is
going to be a challenge for tourism over
the next year or two, and we'll see how it
turns out.”
Soto received a “Legislative Hero”
award during the conference while
Loudermilk received the Governmental
Affairs Excellence Award. Atlanta-based
Peachtree Group, led by Managing
Principal and CEO Greg Friedman,
Managing Principal Jatin Desai and CFO
and Principal Mitul Patel, received the
Leadership in Hospitality Award.
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Speaking on a panel at LendingCon are, from left, past AAHOA Chairman Vinay
Patel, who is president and CEO of Fairbrook Hotels; Republican Congressman
Barry Loudermilk of Georgia; and Chip Rogers, former AAHOA president and
CEO, now CEO of Americans For Fair Treatment.
“We are reshaping lending, making
it simpler, more accessible, so you
can unlock new opportunities with
confidence.”
Jan Gautam, LendingCon founder and president and CEO of
IHRMC Hotels & Resorts