)[3] Properties were forced to adapt to the newfound popularity of the motorcar, adding parking and establishing locations on main highways; the number of rooms in each newly constructed hotel was increasing.

Prohibition hurt the hotel trade by cutting into revenue from food and beverage operations,[4] but the Great Depression would prove disastrous for business.

The 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act, which sought to employ nationwide trade organisations to regulate wages and prices to halt a deflationary spiral, drew strong opposition from hotel owners (who saw it as a prelude to unionisation) and from the association.

[3] Fewer people were travelling overall and hotels were losing market share to less expensive "tourist courts", a new pattern of small clusters of hastily constructed cabins which were the predecessors of the early roadside motels.

[5] Initial attempts to include "tourist courts" in AHA's scope were doomed as the interests of the motel owners were in direct conflict with the existing hotels whose rates were being undercut by the new entrants.

[2] In response to complaints of overcharging for calls from in-room telephones, the association has supported the FCC's protection of a travellers' right to select which carrier provides operator services.

[17] Many of the politicians who have received significant contributions from the American Hotel and Lodging Association PAC advocate for resort fees[18] and against home sharing.

It has offices in Lansing, Michigan, Orlando, Florida and India, and holds exclusive Hospitality Education Program (HEP) license agreements in 45 countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.