REPORT FROM THE U.S.—The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported strong job growth in the U.S. for October, but more than 4 million workers in the hotel industry remain jobless. Sagging occupancy—the result of both seasonal trends and COVID-19 surges—has resulted in a pullback of more than 166,000 hotel jobs since mid-October. Large, city-center properties and luxury hotels are the most adversely impacted.
Labor-management data from Hotel Effectiveness shows that, in a sample of more than 4,000 U.S. hotels, staffing fell to just 50.9% of pre-COVID-19 levels for the week of 8 November. That staffing percentage had reached 53% in mid-October, the data shows.
Even as hotel managers grapple with volatile occupancy and weak near-term demand, industry experts predict a strong recovery beginning in the third quarter of 2021.
“Meetings demand is suppressed today because of coronavirus safety restrictions and fear of travel. As the pandemic control efforts kick in over the next six months, these obstacles will start to go away,” said Taylor Beauchamp, chief product officer and data scientist at Hotel Effectiveness. “Pent-up demand for both leisure travel and corporate meetings should produce a lot of occupancy growth by mid-summer, which will be sustained through 2022.”
The data and chart above represent a sample of more than 4,000 same-store hotels and excludes hotels that have been closed during the analyzed period.
Del Ross is Chief Revenue Officer for Hotel Effectiveness.
The assertions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or its parent company, STR and its affiliated companies. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.