The economic downturn caused by COVID-19 was felt in a historic way this Labor Day. Especially when it came to the hotel industry.
The industry says, as of Aug. 21, 14% of hotel rooms were booked for Labor Day. For perspective, 41% of hotel rooms were booked for the holiday last year. The American Hotel and Lodging Association says bookings for the holiday week were down 65% compared to 2019.
It doesn't expect things to improve over the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, either.
As it stands, almost two thirds of hotels are at or below 50% occupancy, which is below the threshold where most hotels can break even and pay debt.
