News for the Hospitality Executive |
Windermere, Fla.— February 15, 2011 — With tax season in the not-too-distant future, the word "audit" can sometimes make business owners feel faint. But when it comes to understanding the new 2,000+ page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the impact health care reform will have on your hotel today and in the future, a complimentary "audit" from Hospitality Solutions Insurance Services LLC can help steady hoteliers nerves and determine "if" and "which type" of a health benefits plan is right for their employees. "The new regulations under the PPACA can be quite daunting," said Steven Belmonte, Chairman and CEO of Hospitality Solutions LLC. "Our insurance team, led by Patrick Hartle and Terry Singleton, has the expertise to assess what is in place at properties today and how a company's benefits package may need to change by the 2014 deadline. Whether it's employee benefits or property insurance, general liability, Workers' Compensation coverage, group health benefits, commercial automobile liability (including shuttle buses), liquor liability, wake-up call liability, excess liability or other coverage, Hospitality Solutions Insurance LLC is here to help -- affordably. We will sit down with property owners and benefits administrators to review their existing health insurance coverage and make recommendations for simplifying their overall program. In some cases, we can consolidate multiple policies into one, saving the company considerable money." According to Hartle, Hospitality Solutions Insurance Services will identify what changes must be made and the steps needed to get there. The company also has the resources available to shop very aggressively to get the lowest prices on new policies using the best terms if hoteliers elect to pursue that service. "Our goal through the audit process is to show hotel owners how the new health care reform bill will impact their business," Hartle said. "There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration, such as size of the hotel company, the location of the business, where employees reside, and even the demographics of the workforce. If we are reviewing a multi-property operation, for example, we need to determine if one plan is feasible, if different plans are required by each state, if union-based plans are essential or if employer-based programs can suffice. Once that is determined, we will discuss what each program would look like, what it will cost the owner to get from here to there, and make recommendations accordingly." Singleton said that in some cases, it may be in the owners' best interest not to offer employee health insurance at all and instead pay the proposed penalty fee of $2,000 per employee beginning in 2014. It is this type of consultation service that Hospitality Solutions Insurance Services is willing to provide to operators at no cost to help steer them in the right direction for the future. Today, only 40 percent of the hospitality industry has access to employer-based health programs, compared to 71 percent of the entire job market across all other industries. "Many of the smaller hotels can provide affordable coverage to key employees and their families, but it stops there," Singleton said. "Extending that coverage to line-level employees is far more costly -- and that represents a large uninsured population. Larger hotels, on the other hand, are finding it even more difficult to insure top-level staff due to big-group stipends. The new healthcare law will not allow most employers to provide top level employees a different benefit or cost share than line employees in most situations without large penalties for discrimination. Every business must focus on all the costs of providing insurance, and weigh that with both the penalties and costs associated with not providing an employee benefit plan. It may cost the employer more to offer the insurance, but if it produces less turn-over, it might be better in the long run to offer coverage. It is at this point that consultation becomes critical to help owners weigh the alternatives." Important stipulations to note:
About Hospitality Solutions LLC Hospitality
Solutions LLC provides nationwide assistance to Hotel, Restaurant
and Quick-Serve Restaurant owners for "Everything Franchise." With offices in
Windermere, Fla. and Orlando, Hospitality Solutions LLC is comprised of
two divisions: Franchise
Negotiations, providing new franchise agreement negotiations,
franchise termination/liquidated damage claim negotiations; and Legal Services, providing mediation,
expert witness and litigation support. Hospitality Solutions Real Estate LLC,
Parsippany, N.J., operates as a licensed discount commercial real estate
and lending broker; Hospitality Solutions
Insurance Services LLC, Altamonte Springs, Fla., provides custom
discount insurance services, including: property insurance, general
liability, Workers' Compensation coverage, group health benefits,
commercial automobile liability (including shuttle buses), liquor
liability, employee benefits, wake-up call liability, excess liability and
more; and Hospitality Solutions Payroll
Services LLC, Altamonte Springs, Fla., provides payroll, tax and
human resources services. Company Chairman, Founder and CEO Steven
Belmonte, Windermere, Fla., previously served as former President
and CEO of Ramada Hotels and as Chairman of the American Hotel &
Lodging Assn.’s Foundation. For more information, call (407) 654-4600,
email [email protected]
or visit http://www.stevenbelmonte.com/. |
Contact: Steve Belmonte Chairman, Founder and CEO Hospitality Solutions LLC Tel: (407) 654-4600 [email protected] or Barb Worcester PRpro Tel: (440) 930-5770 [email protected] |