CHICAGO (CBS) – From O’Hare International Airport to DuSable Lake Shore Drive, people have been taking to the streets and soaring lately as the city reopens.
But despite an increase in travelers, CBS 2’s Chris Tye noted that many Chicago hotels are still seriously affected.
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Without business travel, urban centers like Chicago and New York and Los Angeles cannot make up for this with tourists. And while many tourist dollars do indeed flow through places like North Michigan Avenue, it is places like Miami and Phoenix that feel the love of the tourist dollar far more than Chicago does.
The pedestrian traffic and photography that was nowhere to be found in Chicago at the time a year ago give the impression that we are in the middle of a touristy summer. But let’s focus it more sharply.
CBS 2 has received the latest hotel occupancy figures. Only 42 percent of Chicago hotel rooms are occupied between June 27 and July 3 – 67 percent more than last year, but 36 percent less than in the summer of 2019 before the pandemic.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association defines Chicago’s hospitality industry in terms of an ongoing “depression”.
“The major urban markets, including Chicago, are considered to be in a depression – not even a recession – but a depression when it comes to hotel revenue,” said Michael Jacobson of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Hotel revenue in Chicago is down 59 percent compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic. In New York it is 62 percent and in San Francisco 70 percent less.
Vacation spots like Miami; Tampa; and Virginia Beach, Virginia are leaders in reversing the slump in sales.
“What is really missing are the individual business travelers who come to Chicago, and then of course the conventions,” says Jacobson. “But that will change soon.”
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Introducing this change is the prospect that conventions will take place again this weekend in McCormick Place and at the end of the month in Lollapalooza.
But even against this background, recruiting in advance proves to be tricky.
In the depths of the pandemic, Chicago hotel workers shared fears of vacation and layoffs. Many left the industry and the region to look for new work.
Now the hotels need them again, despite sluggish sales – urgently.
“We are in dire straits,” said Jacobson.
A big job fair for hotels will take place next week. From the Hilton at McCormick Place to the NoBu Hotel Chicago to the Ritz, outfits will be represented – all with a variety of jobs – from waiters to sous-chefs to security officers.
Unoccupied hotels endeavor to fill the staff opening. It’s just the latest in a long list of COVID head-scratches as Chicago arrives at mid-summer vacation time.
The salvation of summer really depends on the next month with which Car show and Lollapalooza. Chicago is seeing a decline in tourism during the winter, but the hope is that business travel will stabilize by early next year.
In the meantime, in addition to coastal and holiday resorts, many smaller towns and rural towns are also seeing peaks. VRBOs and Airbnbs all over places like Michigan and Wisconsin see prices soaring during the fall color season.
