Half of U.S. hotel-owner respondents to a recent American Hotel & Lodging Association survey indicated that they were in danger of foreclosure by their commercial real estate debt lenders due to Covid-19, the association announced. Further, 68 percent reported that they will be able to last only six more months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels absent any further relief.
AHLA conducted the survey Sept. 14-16 and received more than 1,000 respondents from U.S. hotel industry owners, operators and employees.
Nearly three in four respondents (74 percent) said that without additional government assistance, they would be forced into further layoffs, according to AHLA. About 68 percent already have less than half their typical, pre-crisis staff working full-time, the survey showed.
The association continues to lobby the U.S. federal government for relief. "These are real numbers, millions of jobs, and the livelihoods of people who have built their small business for decades, just withering away because Congress has done nothing," said AHLA president and CEO Chip Rogers on a Friday call with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, according to the association.
To continue to raise awareness for the industry, AHLA has launched a "Save Hotel Jobs" initiative for hoteliers to urge lawmakers to pass another relief package. To date, the efforts has resulted in more than 200,000 letters, calls and tweets to members of Congress, AHLA said.