REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Despite TSA-reported air traffic numbers that reached pandemic records, hotel worker unemployment took a big hit after the Thanksgiving holiday, labor management data form Hotel Effectiveness shows.
Hotel employment at a sample of more than 4,000 hotels in the U.S. has declined by approximately 365,000 over the past four weeks, the data shows.
Travel restrictions and ongoing anti-travel advisories are expected to lead to further job cuts before the Christmas-New Year holiday period.
Human resources executives in the industry are beginning to prepare for another challenge expected in mid-2021.
“The virus is expected to be much more controlled by this summer,” said Mike Martin, CEO of Hotel Effectiveness. “This will lead to an occupancy rebound in a very short period of time. Since room sales and jobs are directly linked, hotels expect to have an unprecedented number of job openings all at once. Preparation for mass recruitment and onboarding will a top priority among larger hotel companies.”
Most of the new hires are expected to have no experience in the industry, so training and development resources will also be straining to keep up with demand. At the same time, most hotel processes, such as housekeeping standards, have been changed as a result of COVID-19 safety protocols. This means that training programs will have to be redesigned.
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.