Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, supposedly muttered 'It'll never fly Orville,' back in 1903. Two hundred years later, it might be appropriate in this case, as well. Will passengers really want to give up their baggage up to 12 hours ahead of time and head to the airport empty-handed? If I had a family of five, absolutely! Traveling alone? I'm not so sure. A grand idea that could make flying more convenient and safe is getting off the ground in Orlando. The AH&LA's John Gay provides his comments in this streaming audio interview on the details and progress of the program.

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John Gay is Vice President, Governmental Affairs, of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the leading trade association of the nation's lodging industry. At AH&LA, he is responsible for formulation and implementation of policy on issues affecting the industry in the areas of labor, tax, and international trade. Mr. Gay also is co-chair of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (), a group of over 30 national businesses and trade associations seeking to reform the U.S. immigration system to allow employers facing shortages of semi-skilled and unskilled ("essential worker") labor to hire workers from abroad. Previously, Mr. Gay was a Senior Manager in the office of government affairs of professional services firm Arthur Andersen. He also served on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly. Mr. Gay graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in American Government. Originally from Atlanta, Mr. Gay and his family reside in Arlington, Virginia.

AH&LA is a 93-year-old federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 11,000 property members nationwide, representing more than 1.5 million guest rooms. AH&LA provides its members with assistance in operations, education, and communications, and lobbies on Capitol Hill to provide a business climate in which the industry can continue to prosper. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.

Kevin Heilbronner is the US Editor for wiredhotelier.com and hospitalitynet.org, providing streaming multimedia-content for these websites. Based outside of Washington DC, Heilbronner has worked with Hsyndicate to conduct interviews at several hospitality trade shows in the US and Europe over the last couple of years. His column and content are featured in the Hospitality Net weekly newsletter. A familiar voice in Washington, DC, Heilbronner is the stadium announcer for the NBA's Washington Wizards, WNBA's Washington Mystics and WUSA's Washington Freedom. He resides in Centreville, VA and can be reached via email: [email protected].

Kevin Heilbronner
AH&LA