Nearly one in two hotel workers will lose their jobs in the coming weeks.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is sounding the alarm with an estimate that 44 percent of all hotel workers will lose their jobs in the coming weeks due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
“The impact to our industry is already more severe than anything we’ve seen before, including September 11th and the great recession of 2008 combined,” said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO.
Based on current occupancy estimates, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) says four million total jobs have been eliminated already or are on the verge of being lost. In certain affected markets, including Seattle, San Francisco, Austin and Boston, hotel occupancy rates are already down below 20 percent and individual hotels and major operators have already shut down operations.
According to a recent study by Oxford Economics, a state-by-state breakdown shows that certain states are projected to be impacted more significantly than in others. California is forecasted to suffer the highest job losses, including over 125,000 hotel jobs and 414,ooo related jobs. Florida is projected to lose over 88,000 hotel jobs and 305,000 related jobs. Nevada is expected to lose over 85,000 hotel jobs and 161,000 related jobs.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt are furloughing tens of thousands of workers. And Trump Hotels is closing at least four properties, with three hotels laying off staff, according to the Washington Post.
“The White House and Congress can take urgent action to protect countless jobs, provide relief to our dedicated and hardworking employees, and ensure that our small business operators and franchise owners – who represent more than half of hotels in the country – can keep their doors open,” said Rogers.
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