PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

HOTREC is the umbrella association of national trade associations representing the hotels, restaurants, cafés and similar establishments in Europe. HOTREC therefore acts as the representative of the hospitality businesses vis-à-vis the EU institutions.

The main objectives of HOTREC are:

• The promotion and defence of the interests of the hospitality industry towards the EU institutions;
• The enhancement of the cooperation between the national hospitality associations.

HOTREC’s principal activity is to monitor and analyse policy developments at EU level that have an impact on the hospitality industry. By gathering information directly at the source, HOTREC ensures that its member associations are kept abreast of any policy developments affecting the hospitality business. Where the interests of the European hospitality industry are at stake, HOTREC expresses the concerns of its member associations to the EU representatives.

In parallel, HOTREC contributes to the EU institutions work by providing them with relevant input and participating at all kind of discussion fora.

In pursuing its objectives, HOTREC also maintains close relations with other interest groups. This dialogue enables the participants to coordinate their views on issues of common interest and multiply their influence in EU policy making.

Membership

HOTREC presently has 44 member associations from 27 European countries.

There are various categories of membership:

• Full membership is reserved for national associations from EU Member States;
• Associate membership is open to national associations from non-EU countries inside the European Economic Area;
• Observer status is offered to national associations from countries whose entry into the EU can be envisaged in the future.

Full members include: Austrian Professional Hotel Association- APHA,  Austrian Professional Restaurant Association-APRA, Veranstalterverband-VVAT, Austria ; FED.Ho.Re.Ca. Brussels , HORECA Vlaanderen , FED.Ho.Re.Ca. Wallonia, Belgium; Association of Employers in Hospitality Industry- UPUHH, Croatia; Cyprus Hotel Association-CHA, Cyprus; The Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants-AHR CR,  Czech Republic, Association of the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Industry in Denmark-HORESTA, Denmark; Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association-EHRA, Estonia; Finnish Hospitality Association-FHA, Finland; Confédération des Professionnels Indépendants de l’Hôtellerie-CPIH, Fédération Autonome Générale de l’Industrie Hôtelière Touristique-FAGIHT, Groupement National des Chaînes-GNC, Syndicat National des Hôteliers, Restaurateurs, Cafetiers et Traiteurs-SYNHORCAT, Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie-UMIH, France; Deutscher Hotel-und Gaststättenverband e.V.-DEHOGA BUNDESVERBAND, Hotelverband Deutschland e.V.-IHA-D, Germany; Hellenic Chamber of Hotels-HCH, Greece; Irish Hotels Federation-IHF, Restaurants Association of Ireland-RAI, Ireland; Federazione delle Associazioni Italiane Alberghi e Turismo- FEDERALBERGHI, Federazione Italiane Pubblici Esercizi- FIPE, Italy; Association of Latvian Hotels and Restaurants-AHRL, Latvia; Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association- LHRA, Lithuania; La Fédération Nationale des Hôteliers, Restaurateurs et Cafetiers du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg-HORESCA, Luxembourg; Koninklijk HORECA Nederland-KHN, Netherlands;  NHO Reiseliv-NHO, Norway;  Associação da Hotelaria de Portugal-AHP, Associação da Restauração e Similares de Portugal-AHRESP, Associação Portuguesa de Hotelaria, Restauração e Turismo-APHORT, Portugal; The Slovak Association of Hotels and Resaturants-SAHR, Slovakia; Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos Turísticos- CEHAT, Federación Española de Hosteleria-FEHR, Spain; Visita-Swedish Hospitality Industry, Sweden; Hôtellerie Suisse Swiss Hotel Association, GASTROSuisse for Hotels and Restaurants, Switzerland; Touristic Hotels & Investors Association- TUROB, Turkish Hotels Federation-TUROFED, Turkey; British Hospitality Association- BHA, British Beer & Pub Association-BB&PA, United Kingdom.

The hospitality industry is subject to rules at local, national, EU and international level. HOTREC is responsible for monitoring and influencing, on behalf of its members, rules which are decided at EU level. These rules cover a large number of policy areas: Tourism, Food, Health, Consumer Affairs, Copyright, Hotel Classification, Quality, Online Distribution, Standards, Internal Market, Competition, Enterprise Policy, Statistics.

HOTREC emphasises the link between EU and national legislation. Often this link is not easily visible as much of EU law consists of so-called Directives, which only become binding on enterprises following implementing legislation at national level. The individual entrepreneur might not realise, therefore, that the national legislation his or her business must abide by actually has a European origin.

Understanding the extent to which the legal and business environment of hospitality enterprises is determined by EU rules is crucial in three regards:

• First, the knowledge that the EU institutions are considering measures enables the hospitality industry to participate actively in its preparatory phase, request amendments, or even a withdrawal, to the measures in question.
• Second, it is useful to be aware that national rules must conform to EU law. This can provide the necessary ammunition for criticising burdensome rules at national level, which might not fully comply with EU measures.
• Third, thanks to the HOTREC presence in Brussels, the industry representatives can easily provide with relevant information to the EU institutions for any initiative under consideration or even request a specific EU action if needed.

Cooperation with other organizations: Business Europe, European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME), The Brewers of Europe, Eurocommerce, European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators Association (ECTAA), European Modern Restaurant Association (EMRA), FoodService Europe, Eurotoques, International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH &RA), European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA).

Participation in alliances with other business representatives:

• The Network of European Private Entrepreneurs in the Tourism Sector: NET
• The Copyright Users Platform: CUP