Incoming Chairman Tarun Patel threw down the gauntlet at last month’s annual meeting of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. “It’s time to test the political muscle of our community,” he told the nearly 4,000 hotel owners gathered at the Gaylord National Resort near Washington, DC for a four-day convention, trade show and round of parties. “We’re taking a strong proactive approach to assure the success of our organization and our industry.”

To be sure, AAHOA has moved swiftly in recent years to become a full-fledged lobbyist in Washington and in state and local jurisdictions on behalf of a wide range of issues. More often than not, AAHOA government priorities mesh with those of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, particularly on issues like economic policy, card check legislation, immigration and proposed changes to ADA regulations. It also backs causes of more concern to its community, such as fair franchising and the relationship between the U.S. and India.

However, some may view the association’s tagline, “THE voice of owners in the hospitality industry,” as a not-so-subtle swipe at the AH&LA, which some perceive to be more a voice of the industry’s brands, management companies and big ownership groups.

Much of the discussion at AAHOA’s recent conference revolved around government affairs and the group’s growing clout in Washington. That was evidenced in a number of ways. A special reception held during the conference was attended by several members of Congress and a number of legislative staff members, as well as a sprinkling of local officials. And one of the general-session speakers was Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), a strong supporter of U.S.-Indian causes and the recently appointed Democratic chair of the U.S. Senate India Caucus.

In the past year, AAHOA’s political action committee raised more than $300,000 ($100,000 more than its goal) to support a variety of sympathetic candidates. The group also hosted or co-hosted five politically oriented receptions and luncheons and visited with a half-dozen-or-so members of Congress.

The conference covered other topics, including membership. According to 2008 Chairman Ash Patel, a record 9,361 hoteliers now belong to AAHOA, not far from its goal of 10,000 members. As a group, AAHOA members own more than 22,000 U.S. hotels worth more than $60 billion. A little more than 1,000 of the members are AAHOA lifetime members, about halfway to the goal of 2,000. The group also released its latest appraisal of how hotel brands are complying with AAHOA’s definition of fair franchising.

Tarun Patel believes AAHOA’s clout could even be greater if the group had a better understanding of its makeup. “We have a recipe to remove the glass walls around us to unleash the power of AAHOA,” said Patel. “Because we need to discover who we are, we’ve contracted PKF Consulting to conduct a member survey and analysis that will determine the true footprint of the Asian American hotel community.”