Half of U.S. hotel rooms projected to remain empty
The hotel industry will continue moving toward recovery in 2022, but the path will be uneven and potentially volatile, and full recovery is still several years away, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)’s 2022 State of the Hotel Industry Report. The report, which reveals shifts in consumer and business sentiment, was created in collaboration with AHLA Silver Partner Accenture and is based on data and forecasts from Oxford Economics and AHLA Platinum Partner STR.
The top findings of the report include:
- Hotel occupancy rates and room revenue are projected to approach 2019 levels in 2022
- The outlook for ancillary revenue, which includes food & beverage and meeting space, is less optimistic
- Hotels lost a collective $111.8 billion in room revenue alone during 2020 and 2021
- Leisure travelers will continue to drive recovery: in 2019, business travelers made up 52.5% of industry room revenue; in 2022, it is projected to represent just 43.6%
- Business travel is expected to remain down more than 20% for much of the year, while just 58% of meetings and events are expected to return; the full effects of Omicron are not yet known
- Changing traveler segments, including the rapid rise of bleisure travelers—those who blend business and leisure travel—are impacting how hotels operate. In fact, one study of global business travelers found 89% wanted to add a private holiday to their business trips in the next twelve months
- In this new environment, technology will be even more critical to a property’s success, according to AHLA Platinum Partner Oracle Hospitality—with hotels investing in technology to meet the needs of both guests and employees today and in the future
Leisure and hospitality sector ended 2019 down 4 million jobs
“Hotels have faced enormous challenges over the past two years, and we are still a long way from full recovery. The uncertainty about the Omicron variant suggests just how difficult it will be to predict travel readiness in 2022, adding to the challenges hotels are already facing,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “The slow return of business travel and fewer meetings and events continue to have a significant negative impact on our industry. The growth of leisure and bleisure travel represents a shift for our industry, and hotels will continue evolving to meet the needs of these ‘new’ travelers.”
Like other industries, hotels have been dealing with a major workforce shortage which could impact recovery. The AHLA Foundation is launching a new, national, multichannel ad campaign to help fill the hundreds of thousands of open jobs in the hotel industry. The pandemic wiped out 10 years of job growth. This multi-year effort, “The Hotel Industry: A Place to Stay,” aims to help job seekers discover the 200+ career pathways and many perks that the industry offers, including competitive wages, benefits, flexible schedules, and travel opportunities. Ads will begin running in Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Phoenix on Facebook, Google, and Youtube in both English and Spanish.
