Holidays may rebound, but business travel is off, report says

Holidays could be back on Americans’ calendars later this year – especially if vaccines help suppress the Covid-19 pandemic – but business travel won’t rebound for some time, according to a forecast from the United States. American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Fifty-six percent of Americans say they are likely to travel for their leisure in 2021, but 48% say their willingness to travel is somehow linked to vaccination, according to the report. ‘AHLA on the State of the Hospitality 2021 released earlier this month. .

The findings echo a recent ValuePenguin survey of 1,200 consumers that found 57% had a vacation planned this year, with 16% booking right after hearing about new vaccines.

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Among travelers, 34% are comfortable with the idea of ​​staying in a hotel, according to AHLA. And improving cleaning and hygiene practices is now the second priority for consumers, behind price, when booking hotels.

By comparison, business travel is unlikely to return to 2019 levels until at least 2023 or 2024, according to AHLA. Business travel will be down 85% through April compared to 2019, and then only grow very slowly.

Only 29% of frequent business travelers who still have a job said they plan to attend a conference in the first half of 2021. Another 36% think the second half is more likely and 20% don’t plan to attend a conference. no travel until 2022 or later.

Namely, half of all hotel rooms in the United States will likely remain unoccupied in 2021. The hospitality industry is down nearly 4 million jobs compared to the same period in 2019, and the hospitality industry accommodation saw an unemployment rate of 18.9% in December, according to the bureau. labor statistics.

“Covid-19 has wiped out 10 years of growth in hotel jobs,” Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA, said in a statement. “Despite the challenges the hospitality industry faces, we are resilient.

“Hotels across the country are striving to create a ready environment for guests when the trip starts to return,” he added.

The AHLA report consolidated the findings of several polls conducted in December and January. Morning Consult conducted the consumer survey of 2,200 adults from January 7-9 and the business traveler survey of 400 adults from January 7 to 12. The Consumer Safety Survey was conducted by Ecolab on December 10 among 556 adults.