A new national survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) shows that many Americans are not expected to travel this holiday season. Results show that 72 percent of Americans are unlikely to travel for Thanksgiving and 69 percent are unlikely to travel for Christmas, compounding the challenges for the hotel industry during this public health crisis.
Business travel has been even more impacted: Only 8 percent of Americans say they have taken an overnight business trip since March, and just 19 percent of respondents who are currently employed—or 8 percent of all adults—expect to travel for business within the next six months. Sixty-two percent (62 percent) of employed Americans have no plans to stay in a hotel for business.
The survey of 2,200 adults was conducted November 2-4, 2020 by Morning Consult on behalf of AHLA. Key findings of the survey include the following:
- One-third (32 percent) of respondents have taken an overnight vacation or leisure trip since March
- 21 percent of Americans say they are likely to travel for Thanksgiving, 24 percent are likely to travel for Christmas
- Looking ahead to next year, 24 percent are likely to travel for spring break
- 44 percent say their next hotel stay for vacation or leisure travel will be a year or more from now or they have no plans to stay in a hotel
“This holiday season will be an especially difficult time for all Americans, and our industry is no exception,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, in a press release. “Fewer people will be traveling, and business travel remains nearly non-existent. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to pass a relief bill now. Millions of Americans are out of work, and thousands of small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open. We cannot afford to wait until the next Congress is sworn in for relief. They need help now.”
The hotel industry was the first impacted by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover, the AHLA says. Hotel occupancy rates partially rebounded from record lows in April, but they have continued to decline since Labor Day. According to STR, nationwide hotel occupancy was 44.4 percent for the week ending October 31, compared to 62.6 percent the same week last year. Occupancy in urban markets is just 35.6 percent, down from 71.8 percent one year ago.
As a result of the significant drop in travel, more than half of hotels report they have less than half of their typical, pre-crisis staff working full time currently. Without further governmental assistance, 74 percent of hotels said they would be forced into further layoffs.
Source: AHLA
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