Faith Dorn has been named director of the Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association, a group formed in 2022.

Dorn most recently was a senior account executive for LMC Insurance & Risk Management, where she created programs for hotel groups. In her new role, Dorn will focus on member relations and developing benefit programs to help the Iowa lodging industry continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The association was formed a year ago as a way to provide Iowa’s lodging industry with a voice in the Iowa Legislature and with state regulators.

“We are excited to build on that foundation and expand our member value with programs and services to help Iowa’s lodging industry operate more efficiently and cost effectively,” Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the association, said in a prepared statement. Dunker also is president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association.

In its first year, 100 hotel properties, or about 10% of Iowa’s lodging establishments, joined the association. In addition, the lodging group helped expand the number of Iowa hotels that have completed the state’s human trafficking prevention certification program. It also worked with the restaurant association to administer Meet in Iowa, a program funded through the Iowa Tourism Office to help increase overnight hotel stays across the state.

Since its roll-out last May, the Meet in Iowa program is credited with increasing a confirmed 2,250 additional hotel room night stays across the state with thousands more expected in the coming year.