Associations Civil and Municipal Education Hospitality & Travel July 2024

Nebraska Hospitality Association – Lincoln, Nebraska

July 29, 2024

Nebraska Hospitality Association

Leading the Way in Advocacy and Innovation in a Constantly Evolving Industry

Providing the support needed to thrive in the dynamic hospitality sector

The Nebraska Hospitality Association (NeHA), formerly known as the Nebraska Restaurant Association, has been a cornerstone of the state’s hospitality industry since its inception in 1954. Initially established to support restaurateurs, sports bars, and allied members, the association has significantly broadened its scope, expanding in 2022 to include the Nebraska Hotel and Lodging Association, creating an entity that represents a significant portion of Nebraska’s economy. Through its focused efforts, Neha works to support business owners and move the industry forward.

“Legislation is our big thing. Whether it’s national, state or local, we get into the issues that affect our industry,” NeHA Executive Director, Zoe Olsen, depicts. “If you put us together, we’d be one of the leading employers in the state. We’re certainly one of the biggest parts of the economy. And because of the lodging tax that our hotels pay, we also fund the Tourism Commission.”

Overcoming Challenges

“During COVID, we were very active and very successful in many of the things we did,” she continues, underscoring the importance of the association’s work with Senator Pete Ricketts, who was Governor at the time. This included the signing of an executive order allowing alcohol to go, a move that was a lifeline for many struggling businesses in Nebraska.

“We did that because there’s a larger profit margin and less intensive work in making cocktails than there is in food preparation. We were looking for every way we could find to keep our members going,” Olsen conveys. This initiative, although met with resistance at first, became a permanent law thanks to NeHA’s persistent efforts. “We worked with a lot of entities to make sure that our alcohol to-go bill would not threaten federal highway dollars, that we had the support of law enforcement, and that we had the support of our liquor control commission, which we did,” she recounts.”

Another example of the association’s resourcefulness was its work to help with supply chain issues, specifically ensuring Nebraskans had access to the items that the industry had a surplus of. The state, being largely rural, experienced severe shortages in essential supplies like toilet paper, cleaning products, and food items.

“We had all these small towns that were lacking supplies. Meanwhile, our big vendor companies had stock rooms full of toilet paper, paper towels, steaks, eggs, milk, butter, all these things, but they couldn’t sell them, because they’re not packaged for retail sale,” Olsen elaborates.

“So, we worked with the Department of Ag, and they allowed us to have restaurants that could sell a box of steaks, or eggs, they could sell toilet paper. It helped not only in the cities, but it helped in the smaller communities where we could get them much-needed food that they couldn’t get through their grocery stores because the grocery stores were limited on what they were receiving.”

Additionally, NeHA facilitated workforce reallocation, helping restaurant employees find temporary positions in grocery stores. Their efforts were underpinned by a close working relationship with the National Restaurant Association, state health departments, and the governor’s office, ensuring that safety measures, such as mask mandates, were practical and scientifically informed. “Nebraska did not do things during COVID the way other states did, we didn’t have a statewide shutdown on anything. We are large geographically, but our population is right around 2 million.”

Education Initiatives

Beyond advocacy, NeHA places significant emphasis on education and the Nebraska Restaurant Association Hospitality Educational Foundation plays a crucial role in this mission. “We operate what we call ProStart, which is a program for high school students to learn more about a career in culinary or management. We work with educators all year long. We work with our community colleges, and we also work with the University of Nebraska Lincoln, which has the Hospitality Restaurant Tourism and Management program,” Olsen relays.

Through competitions, students gain practical experience and valuable skills. “We just finished our Final Three culinary competition. That competition is a look at what it’s really like in the industry, and honing those skills, the work that the students do. They cook a three-course meal, using butane burners only, and no electricity, to make these amazing meals.”

Furthermore, the educational foundation brings professional mentors into high schools, in the form of industry professionals. “We also provide scholarships for high school students going into college to a Nebraska College, in the field of hospitality, and we have scholarships for professionals who want to go back and get some more education, maybe they want to become a Sommelier,” says Olsen.

NeHA also facilitates continuing education for professionals through various ServSafe modules, ensuring that industry standards for food and alcohol safety and service are maintained. “In many cases, ServSafe is one of the first courses they take just to be certified to work in a restaurant,” she remarks.

Moving Forward

Since the pandemic, Nebraska’s tourism sector has experienced a remarkable resurgence. “We’ve been setting records nonstop. We used to be the last in the nation of places that people thought to come visit. We were the last and we’ve moved up to 45th, which is amazing in a very short time,” Olsen boasts.

On the hospitality side, Olsen credits this progress to the improved communication strategies implemented during COVID-19. The Nebraska Hospitality Association’s small team of just two and a half full-time employees, leveraged technology to stay connected, swiftly adapting to the need for rapid information. NeHA ensured its members were always informed about the latest developments, using email as a primary tool. “Communication has been vital to what we do and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she maintains.

“We even took on a new membership platform, where people can go immediately to an app. When something happens, as it often does in legislative issues, we can instantly send out an alert so they can be aware of what’s happening.”

Looking ahead, a key goal is to address workforce shortages, a persistent issue exacerbated by Nebraska’s low unemployment rate and vast geographic spread. “The last time I checked, we had 38 jobs available for every working Nebraskan, that are not filled,” Olsen depicts. The state’s hospitality sector has had to innovate, shifting to a team-based service model in restaurants and adjusting hotel operations to cope with staffing challenges.

She admits, “During COVID, of course, we changed how we did things, but we found out coming back, we had to keep changing how we do things. We operate differently now.” Major events like the College World Series and the Olympic Swim Trials highlighted these workforce issues, prompting adaptations like reduced housekeeping services and the adoption of technology for check-ins and menus.

“Right now, one of our main issues is the Credit Card Competition Act,” Olsen reports. “That’s a big thing. The FTC wants to change how we do business based on fees that we charge.” The association is also working to develop a visa system to bring people who want to come and work in the hospitality industry.

“We have special visas for agricultural workers, we have special visas for specified scientific things. But we need people in our industry who want to come here to work and be a part of our communities. So that’s a big thing,” she emphasizes. “We work on that with other entities as well. It’s not just our industry, it’s looking at the whole person, and how we can make their experience here living in Nebraska pleasant, and a good opportunity for them.”

As the hospitality sector continues to recover and evolve, the Nebraska Hospitality Association is committed to continued action as an advocate and innovator. With this focus, the association is not only navigating the challenges of today but also building a resilient and prosperous future for Nebraska’s hospitality industry.