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AAHOA members engage with Ontario lawmakers ahead of vote
They addressed ballot measures that could reshape wages, staffing rules, and hotel development in the Southern California city.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 26, Feb 2026
- 14:49 EST
- 15
Members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association / AAHOA
Members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) engaged with Ontario city leadership in California to address industry related concerns.
The move came ahead of a March 24 special election that could significantly affect hotel operations in the city.
Also Read: AAHOA partners with Inspire Brands
AAHOA said its members sought to communicate the operational and staffing challenges and propose ballot measures impacting wage standards, workplace rules, and hotel development.
To support the effort, AAHOA partnered with the California Hotel & Lodging Association and consulting firm Swing Strategies.
AAHOA South Pacific regional director Neil Bhakta joined local hoteliers in meetings with city officials to outline what the association described as potential consequences for small businesses and the community.
AAHOA said the coordinated engagement reflects its broader advocacy efforts to encourage hotel owners to participate in municipal policymaking and support policies it says protect the long-term stability of the hospitality sector.
“We commend the Ontario hotel owners and leaders who continue to stand up for thoughtful, informed public policy,” the association said in a statement.
The most prominent initiative on the ballot, Measure V, would gradually raise the minimum wage for hotel, event center, and airport workers in Ontario to $30 per hour by 2030.
The measure would also impose restrictions on housekeeping room quotas, establish mandatory overtime rules, regulate daily work hours and room-cleaning square footage limits, and require equitable distribution of service charges to employees who performed the work.
It would authorize the city manager to investigate complaints and impose penalties for violations.
A separate development-related proposal would require voter approval for future hotel and event center projects, following controversy over a planned 600-room hotel near the Ontario Convention Center.
Supporters of Measure V, including Unite Here Local 11, gathered signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot, arguing it would increase wages and strengthen workplace protections for hospitality workers.
Voters in Ontario, located east of Los Angeles, will decide the measures on March 24.
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