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Election Night Recap -
Results of the 2025 City of Orlando Elections
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On Tuesday, November 4th, the City of Orlando held its elections for three seats on the Orlando City Council. During the election cycle, the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association’s PAC had endorsed three candidates and in the end, two of these candidates won their respective races and/or moved on to the runoff election.
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- City of Orlando Commissioner, District 3 – RUNOFF: Roger Chapin
- City of Orlando Commissioner, District 5 – WINNER: Shaniqua “Shan” Rose
We'd like to congratulate Tom Keen on winning the District 1 seat and Shaniqua “Shan” Rose on winning the District 5 seat. We look forward to working with both commissioners to support the tourism and hospitality industry! Additionally, we are grateful for Commissioner Jim Gray and his continued service and support of the tourism and hospitality industry over the past 13 years on the City Council.
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Runoff Election for the City of Orlando on December 9th - Please support Roger Chapin
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As a reminder, Tuesday, December 9, 2025 will be the Runoff Election for the City of Orlando Commission, District 3 race. On behalf of the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association’s PAC and PC, we are proud to endorse and support Roger Chapin.
If you live in College Park or Baldwin Park, it is incredibly important that you go out and vote again in the upcoming runoff election. Please encourage all of your co-workers, family members, and friends to also support Roger Chapin. Remember one vote can make the difference and together, let's get out the vote to support this Hospitality Champion!
CLICK HERE to learn more, including questions regarding your voting precinct, voting locations and hours, etc.
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CFHLA Announces 2026 Legislative Priorities
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As state lawmakers prepare to meet in Tallahassee on January 13, 2026, CFHLA is proud to share our 2026 approved CFHLA Legislative Priorities. The CFHLA Board of Directors approved this list of eleven (11) priorities, during its most recent Board of Directors Meeting on November 19th, after receiving feedback from our CFHLA membership.
To learn more about these priorities, please CLICK HERE.
CFHLA will now begin to share these priorities with our industry partners and begin to advocate for these priorities during the upcoming legislative session.
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Did You Know? The Power of Proper
TDT Investment in Osceola County
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As we continue to share the positive impacts of TDT and how the proper investment benefits our community, Osceola County is home to many events, attractions, and venues that tourists visit throughout the year.
In fact, did you know that Osceola County collected over $80 Million in TDT throughout the FY 2024-25?
Of these funds, $26.7 Million (or about 35%) were used to fund Experience Kissimmee, which promotes tourism, drives economic impact, and elevates the region’s profile as a premier travel destination. Additionally, its through this funding that Experience Kissimmee supports tourism facilities within the county including more than $1.4 Million annually. This includes more than $588,000 annually for the Osceola Center for the Arts, $424,000 for the Osceola Welcome Center (Osceola History), over $223,000 for the Silver Spurs Rodeo, and $111,000 for the Kissimmee Valley Livestock Show and Fair.
Furthermore, Experience Kissimmee also distributes more than $677,745 annually in tourism development grants to support several local organizations and their marketing and promotional efforts. In total, more than 37 community events are supported with TDT annually in Osceola County.
Lastly, Osceola County invests much of its remaining TDT funds (about 65% of annual TDT collections) on capital improvements and to operate tourism facilities within Osceola County including Osceola Heritage Park and Silver Spurs Arena, Austin-Tindall Sports Complex, and the Kissimmee Valley Livestock Show (KVLS) Events Center.
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Preparing for the 2026 Legislative Session - Committee Weeks 3 & 4
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Over the past few weeks, the Florida Legislature has held two of its six committee weeks as they prepare to begin the 2026 Florida Legislative Session in January.
Here's a quick recap of each committee week and any potential bills that could impact the future of the hospitality and tourism industry.
The third committee week (November 3 - 7, 2025) was very much like the first two. A few bills moved (most did not), property taxes continued to be discussed, and the House, Senate, and special elections gained some attention. The Revenue Estimating Conference met to discuss the impact of several proposed changes to property taxes and provided estimated economic impact values for each of them, as applicable. HB 197, which would expand the use of E-Verify, cleared its first committee stop this week, and now advances to its final committee stop before heading to the House floor. Additionally, several bills were filed relating to TDT by Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith and Representative Anna Eskamani (SB 454/HB 6007, SB 456, and SB 458), as well as one bill related to Large-Scale County DMOs (SB 446).
Then during the fourth committee week (November 12 - 21, 2025), the House Select Committee on Property taxes voted all property tax proposals favorably out of the committee. They all now move to their next committee stop in the State Affairs Committee.
In federal news, the White House has also unveiled plans to expand offshore oil drilling, including in the Eastern Gulf near Florida, overturning long-standing federal restrictions in some areas. The proposal focuses on “Program Area B,” located at least 100 nautical miles from the coast, with lease auctions expected to begin in 2029. Florida leaders from both parties, including Governor Ron DeSantis, Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, and several members of Congress, have strongly opposed the plan, citing potential threats to tourism, the environment, and wildlife.
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Sharing CFHLA Priorities at the West Orange Chamber Legislative Delegation Meeting
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On Friday, November 14th, our CFHLA partner and member, the West Orange Chamber of Commerce held its annual legislative delegation meeting. Several Orange County legislators were invited to come and speak with members of the Chamber, about the Chamber’s legislative priorities and issues that are important to their members and community partners. The panel of legislators included:
- Representative Bruce Antone – HD 41
- Representative Doug Bankson – HD 39
- Representative Rita Harris – HD 44
- Representative RaShon Young – HD 40
- Senator LaVon Bracy Davis – SD 15
- Senator Keith Truenow – SD 13
Thank you to the West Orange Chamber for inviting CFHLA to join in the conversation and discuss several issues that are important to the tourism and hospitality industry, including the protection of the TDT, property taxes, and economic development.
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Moving I-4 Forward Update
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On Tuesday, November 18th, the Florida Department of Transportation as a part of the Moving I-4 Forward Initiative, provided updates on the statuses of three key infrastructure projects currently underway including:
- Project 1: I-4 from east of World Drive to east of U.S. 192
- Project 2: I-4 from east of ChampionsGate Blvd. (C.R. 532) to west of World Drive, and
- Project 5: New Poinciana Connector from Osceola Polk Line Road (C.R. 532) to S.R. 429
Click on the button below to learn more about each of these critically important projects.
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Conversation with 2026 Gubernatorial Candidate
Paul Renner
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On Friday, November 21st, the Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida hosted the Former Speaker of the Florida House and 2026 Florida Gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner. CFHLA Government Affairs Manager Zack Brodersen and CFHLA PAC Board Chair Jay Leonard, along with several members of the CFHLA Governmental Affairs Committee were delighted to attend this luncheon and learn more about Speaker Renner's vision for the future of Florida.
Thank you Speaker Renner for discussing a variety of topics that are important to the tourism and hospitality industry, including TDT, property taxes, economic development, and workforce housing.
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Upcoming Governmental Affairs Meeting
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The final CFHLA Governmental Affairs meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM at Rosen Shingle Creek.
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CFHLA MEMBERS - Please consider making a small donation of $50 via the link below to the CFHLA PAC/PC. All contributions help CFHLA expand its efforts to support Hospitality-Friendly candidates who are running for local and state offices in the future. Throughout the 2024 Election Cycle, 27 of 31 or 87% of the PAC endorsed candidates were elected into office.
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About CFHLA
6675 Westwood Blvd #210, Orlando, FL 32821
The mission of the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association is to represent the Central Florida Hospitality Industry, by setting the standard of excellence through advocacy, collaboration, education, recognition, and service.
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