Seemingly overnight, the new coronavirus pandemic has dramatically curbed travel in the U.S. Hotels are feeling the pain as occupancies dropped to historic lows, in some cases down by 80 percent.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association on Monday reported major hotel managers said they’ve laid off or furloughed one million employees.
Long Live Lodging and its Lodging Leaders podcast has put a temporary hold on its once-a-week programming to provide updates throughout the week on specific issues impacting the hotel business.
In this episode of our special report on how COVID-19 is impacting the hotel industry, Lodging Leaders interviewed a hotel owner who is trying to keep his staff onboard. We also talked to consultants who offered advice on how to manage their workforces and make hard decisions during the crisis.
More Information
To keep up to date on the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry, visit the coronavirus section on our website.
We want to hear from YOU!
Let us know how the crisis is affecting your business and your life. Click here to share YOUR experience.
Resources and Links
Ginny Morrison of Evanston, Illinois, is a 33-year veteran of Spire Hospitality, a hotel management company with a portfolio that spans coast-to-coast. As vice president of sales and marketing, Morrison saw the coronavirus pandemic decimate the meetings business. More than a year later, she’s witnessing a comeback as small-meeting planners are actively booking events for the last half of 2021 and beyond. As public health agencies expand COVID-19 vaccination programs across the U.S. and states ease up on public-gathering restrictions designed to keep the virus at bay, the hotel industry is seeing small meetings begin a comeback. In Episode 317, Long Live Lodging covers the state of the small-meetings sector and how hotels can grab their share of the meetings business during and post-pandemic. This report is part of our ongoing coverage about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the hospitality industry.
The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference will be the industry’s first large event to be held during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlanta event will be a hybrid format of in-person and virtual access, also an industry first. Lee Hunter, chairman of the conference, knows the level of expectation is high among other conference planners as well as industry professionals eager to network after more than a yearlong hiatus. Episode 316 of Lodging Leaders podcast features Hunter as he tells what it takes to re-launch the industry’s conference circuit amid the COVID-19 outbreak.