In many ways, Labor Day marks the beginning of the new year. Tourists are gone, kids are back to school and summer heat turns to fall crispness. For hotel owners, it’s also a time to reflect on 2010 as it fades and plan for the next calendar year.

This fall, in particular, the hotel industry faces a number of issues that could affect business, both in positive and negative ways:

With elections approaching, the lame-duck session of Congress that follows could take up some legislation, mainly card check, that could prove onerous for all businesses, lodging properties included. The bill, which President Obama and the Democratic Party championed during the 2008 election, would enable labor unions to more easily organize your hotel or company. Call your senator or representative to remind him or her why passage of this legislation is a bad idea.

On a brighter note from Washington, border agents last month began collecting a $14 fee from travelers entering the U.S. from 36 countries. The levy, which should raise more than $100 million a year, will mostly be used to promote the U.S. as a travel destination. Once this promotional apparatus revs up, more foreign tourists should come to the U.S., further enhancing the hotel industry’s slow but steady recovery.

Another proposal from the Obama administration—a multi-billion-dollar initiative to upgrade the nation’s roads, railways and airports—could also have a very positive impact on the hospitality industry. Passage of this legislation, however, seems unlikely before the November election and iffy at best before the start of the new Congressional session in January.

On a more local level, the problem of bed bugs has been a hot topics in the news of late. As the buzz builds around these nasty pests, it’s important for operators to take whatever steps necessary to make sure their hotels are free of bed bugs (and other pests, of course). The worst thing that can happen is for your hotel(s) to become a media target because a guest finds bed bugs in your properties.