COVID-19 Set Hotel Industry Back a Decade

The pandemic killed more than 10 years’ worth of job growth.

The GEM recently reported the hotel industry added 36,000 new jobs in February. That’s a sign of improvement from the damage of 2020. But looking at the big picture – the industry won’t return to pre-pandemic levels for another three years.

A recent report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association says the hotel and hospitality industry won’t fully recover until 2024. Roughly 4 million hospitality jobs were axed last year, with 670,000 in the hotel sector alone. The report may say 200,000 new jobs are projected this year. But in perspective with the 478,245 lost – there’s still a long way to go.

Here’s one place to start…

Vaccine distribution begets job growth

Nearly half of respondents to AHLA’s report said they “see vaccine distribution as key to travel.” As of today, 98.2 million Americans have been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number increases by a few million every day.

Things may take time to level out. But that does show momentum in the right direction.

A recent study from Hotels.com finds 89 percent of Americans will travel “more spontaneously than ever.” The research isn’t clear if there’s a direct connection between spontaneity and assurance of higher vaccine rates.

But the findings show a snapshot of how eager Americans are to travel and stay in a hotel. More than a third have dubbed 2020 “a lost year,” and 35 percent are more willing to “drop everything and vacay in 2021.”

Here are some of the more humorous things survey respondents said they would do or give up to travel again…

• 29 percent said they would “do all the cleaning in their house”
• 24 percent will “give up sweets”
• 23 percent won’t “leave the house”
• 22 percent will “stop shopping”
• 22 percent will “stop drinking alcohol”

All that just to get out and stay in a hotel again. But as Josh Belkin, VP of Hotels.com muses: it only makes sense after 2020.

“This year, travelers are ready to ‘seize the stay’ when travel returns, and they feel comfortable to take the trips they missed out on,” Belkin said. “People are ready to channel their inner spontaneous self, dropping everything at the last minute to get away and enjoy the best that hotel life has to offer.”

With more travel, hotels can hire the best and give those customers the best they have to offer.