WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AHLA) president and CEO Chip Rogers along with UNITE HERE President D. Taylor will announce new legislation to provide targeted relief to the ailing hotel industry.
The introduction of this critical legislation comes at a time when the hotel industry has lost 10 years of job growth, is shuttering doors and losing employees for good. Leisure and hospitality has lost 3.1 million jobs during the pandemic that have yet to return, representing more than a third of all unemployed persons in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate in the accommodation sector specifically remains 330% higher than the rest of the economy.
No industry has been more affected by the pandemic than hospitality. Government-issued travel bans and restrictions, which have been meant to slow the spread of the virus, resulted in record job loss. While leisure travel is resuming as more people are vaccinated, business travel—the largest source of hotel revenue—is down 85% and is not expected to begin its slow return until the second half of this year. Full recovery is not expected until 2024.
Add Comment