ABOUT
Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA)
ORLA is the leading business association for the foodservice and lodging industry in Oregon. A not-for-profit trade organization, ORLA represents close to 3,000 member units and advocates for over 10,000 foodservice locations and over 2,400 lodging establishments in Oregon. The hospitality industry is the second largest business sector behind healthcare. In 2022, our industry provided over 197,000 jobs to working Oregonians and brought in over $10.9 billion in annual sales for Oregon. |
Oregon Hospitality Foundation (OHF)
OHF is an independent 501c3 foundation that supports educational opportunities and job training programs. Its mission is to support the workforce, educational, training, and philanthropic needs of Oregon’s hospitality industry. Learn more about the Foundation's career technical education (CTE) and workforce development programs. |
MISSION
ORLA serves as the leading industry advocate, striving to protect, improve and promote Oregon Hospitality. |
Industry-At-A-Glance
Restaurants:
[National Restaurant Association: Oregon Restaurant Industry At A Glance] |
Lodging:
[AHLA: Oregon's Hotel Industry by the Numbers] |
Statement on Diversity & Inclusion
ORLA is committed to welcoming diverse perspectives, experiences and approaches to foster a stronger, inclusive, and more informed hospitality industry. As an association representing a business sector with more minority-owned and female-owned businesses than any other industry, we do not tolerate racism, discrimination or hatred. We are an industry focused on building communities–inclusive of all–and we are taking more proactive steps to ensure we are leading by example.
To provide authentic leadership and help promote diversity and inclusion, ORLA strives to:
Since adopting our formal statement on Diversity & Inclusion, ORLA has:
ORLA is committed to welcoming diverse perspectives, experiences and approaches to foster a stronger, inclusive, and more informed hospitality industry. As an association representing a business sector with more minority-owned and female-owned businesses than any other industry, we do not tolerate racism, discrimination or hatred. We are an industry focused on building communities–inclusive of all–and we are taking more proactive steps to ensure we are leading by example.
To provide authentic leadership and help promote diversity and inclusion, ORLA strives to:
- Better understand diversity, inclusion, and equity to ensure the well-being of our staff, our members and the communities we serve.
- Continue to promote opportunities for leadership through service on the ORLA board of directors, staff, leadership teams and advisory committees.
- Provide continued training opportunities for association staff, leadership, and industry devoted to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) competency.
Since adopting our formal statement on Diversity & Inclusion, ORLA has:
- Incorporated DEI training through the administration of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy. The program, led by consultant Michele Leedom of Clinton Street Consulting, provides recurring opportunities for tourism academy classes to understand the importance of DEI competency and provides a forum for continual learning.
- Continued the process of diversifying leadership positions to be representative of the industry’s makeup. Currently, ORLA is led by a female majority Executive Committee and a diverse Board of Directors. In 4 of the past 8 years, ORLA’s Board Chair has been a person of color bringing a wealth of leadership and experience to the work of the association.
- Launched new equity initiatives focused on providing improved access to ORLA’s events and programs. ORLA’s foundation, the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, has launched new scholarships for our annual ProStart Championship Event taking place in Salem in support of high school students, teachers, and mentors from rural communities. The scholarships are designed to cover hotel room nights and transportation costs to ensure our rural ProStart schools have equitable access to the championship event with support from us to reduce costs associated with travel to Salem. In addition, ORLA is launching scholarships to our 2024 Taste Oregon Legislative Reception and DC Fly-In events to subsidize the costs for industry operators to attend and make their voices heard by elected officials.