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The coronavirus pandemic’s power to zap the hotel industry continues to march forward.
The latest is a report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The association estimates state and local tax revenues generated from the hotel industry nationwide will drop $16.8 billion in 2020 due to the sharp drop in travel demand, hotel operations and room occupancies. Last year that figure was nearly $40 billion.
Florida is primed to take one of the biggest hits in the country, with a $1.3 billion loss in state and local tax revenues, states the report, which uses data from Oxford Economics. These tax impacts represent the direct tax revenue decrease from the severe drop in hotel occupancy, including occupancy, sales, and gaming taxes. The figures don’t include the potential knock-on effects on property taxes supported by hotels, the association says, which is worth nearly $9 billion.
American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Chip Rogers, in a statement, says the COVID-19 impact to the travel sector, overall, is nine times worse than 9/11. More than 70% of hotel employees nationally have been laid off or furloughed, and six in ten hotel rooms remain empty. This year is projected to be the worst year on record for hotel occupancy, the association adds, and industry experts estimate it will be at least 2022 before hotels return to their 2019 occupancy and revenue levels.
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