Mid-2021, a new report and Job Loss Breakdown by State The study, published by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), finds that while the hotel industry’s path to recovery from the pandemic is returning, the path to recovery from the pandemic is long and uneven, with urban markets disproportionately affected .

Industry forecasts have improved since January with the rise in leisure travel, but the industry remains well below pre-pandemic levels. The most important findings include:

  1. More than every fifth job in direct hotel operations that was lost during the pandemic – almost 500,000 in total – will not have returned by the end of the year
  2. Hotel occupancy is expected to decrease by ten percentage points compared to 2019
  3. Hotel room sales are set to decline $ 44 billion this year compared to 2019
  4. States and municipalities will have lost more than $ 20 billion in unrealized hotel tax revenue in the past two years

The results come when AHLA and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association theirs Virtual action summit (July 20-22), where hoteliers from almost every state in the country will meet with members of Congress to discuss the impact COVID-19 is having on the industry and to seek additional help by asking Congress to:

  • Cosponsor and passed the Save Act on Hotel Jobs (P.1519 / HR3093)
  • Cosponsor and hands over invoices to the facility fair daily rates (HR2104 / S.2160)
  • Help give hoteliers access to the retention tax credit that is currently banning many hoteliers

“Despite a surge in leisure travel, in mid-2021 we still see the road to full recovery for America’s hotels is long and uneven. These results show the economic devastation that the hotel markets are still facing and underscore the need for targeted relief from Congress for hotel workers and small businesses, ”said Chip Rogers, President and CEO of AHLA. “Hotels and their employees have shown exceptional resilience in the face of unprecedented economic challenges, but whether it’s the Save Hotel Jobs Act, fair daily rates, or the expansion of the freedom of movement for retention tax credits, we need the help of Congress on the way to one full recovery. That is why the industry is united behind our Virtual Action Summit. “

COVID-19 is the worst economic event in the history of the American hotel industry. While the recent surge in summer vacation travel is encouraging, business and group travel, the largest source of income in the industry, will take significantly longer to recover. Business travel is on the decline and is unlikely to return to 2019 levels until 2023 or 2024. Major events, congresses and business meetings have already been canceled or postponed to at least 2022.

Although hotels are among the hardest hit by the pandemic, hotels are the only segment of the hospitality and leisure industries that still receive direct COVID-related help.