US hotel employment drops by 365,000 over four weeks
Seasonality and COVID-19 have combined to depress hotel occupancy, forcing hotels to cut jobs to the lowest level since July 2020.
REPORT FROM THE U.S. - Despite TSA-reported air traffic numbers that reached pandemic records, hotel worker unemployment took a big hit after the Thanksgiving holiday, labor management data form Hotel Effectiveness shows.
Hotel employment at a sample of more than 4,000 hotels in the U.S. has declined by approximately 365,000 over the past four weeks, the data shows.
Travel restrictions and ongoing anti-travel advisories are expected to lead to further job cuts before the Christmas-New Year holiday period.
Human resources executives in the industry are beginning to prepare for another challenge expected in mid-2021.
"The virus is expected to be much more controlled by this summer," said Mike Martin, CEO of Hotel Effectiveness. "This will lead to an occupancy rebound in a very short period of time. Since room sales and jobs are directly linked, hotels expect to have an unprecedented number of job openings all at once. Preparation for mass recruitment and onboarding will a top priority among larger hotel companies."
