Group items tagged

GREEN BUILDING INCENTIVE database IncentiFind is working with the American Hotel & Lodging Association to assist AHLA members identify sustainability-driven cost savings. IncentiFind provides more than half a million incentives, such as tax credits, grants, fee waivers, rebates, and bill credits. The collaboration empowers hoteliers to access $70 billion in incentives, AHLA said in a statement. AHLA said that these credits bolster the adoption of green initiatives, including energy efficiency, renewables, water conservation, and more. These efforts are aimed at diminishing operational costs for hoteliers, the association said. As part of this partnership, AHLA members will receive special pricing on IncentiFind's VERIFY Report, which identifies rebates and savings for asset upgrades, such as buying energy-efficient appliances or installing solar panels. AHLA's collaboration with IncentiFind represents the association's ongoing efforts to promote sustainability in the hotel industry through the Responsible Stay initiative. This initiative underscores AHLA members' dedication to energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and responsible sourcing, the statement said.

THE STATE OF the U.S. hotel industry is strong going into 2024, according to American Hotel & Lodging Association's 2024 State of the Hotel Industry report. Average hotel occupancy is expected to reach nearly 63.6 percent in 2024, a slight increase from the 62.9 percent in 2023 but below the 65.8 percent rate recorded in 2019. Nominal RevPAR is also anticipated to rise to $101.82 in 2024, up by 4 percent from 2023 and over 17 percent from 2019. AHLA projects hotels will pay employees a record sum of over $123 billion in wages, salaries, and compensation in 2024, surpassing $118 billion in 2023 and $102 billion in 2019. Hotels are expected to add approximately 45,000 employees this year, while the industry's workforce remains nearly 225,000 below the almost 2.37 million employed in 2019, the AHLA report said. The report, projecting persistent challenges for hoteliers in the face of nationwide labor shortages as they approach 2019 occupancy levels, draws on data and analysis from Oxford Economics. It was developed in collaboration with AHLA Premier Partners: STR, Avendra, Ecolab, Encore, JLL, Oracle, and Towne Park.

THE U.S. HOTEL industry will continue its recovery in 2022, but the path will be uneven and potentially volatile, according to a report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. It added that a full recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will take several years. AHLA's 2022 State of the Hotel Industry report also revealed shifts in consumer and business sentiment. The report was created in collaboration with Accenture and is based on data and forecasts from Oxford Economics and STR. According to the report, hotel occupancy rates and room revenue will approach 2019 levels this year, but the outlook for ancillary revenue, which includes F&B and meeting space, is less optimistic. Leisure travelers will continue to drive recovery, the report added. Hotels lost a collective $111.8 billion in room revenue alone during 2020 and 2021. Business travelers made up 52.5 percent of industry room revenue in 2019 and it will be 43.6 percent in 2022. Business travel will be down more than 20 percent for much of the year, the report said. As the full effects of Omicron is not yet known, just 58 percent of meetings and events are expected to return. AHLA report said that the rapid rise of bleisure travelers-those who blend business and leisure travel-are impacting hotel operations now. A recent study revealed that 89 percent of business travelers wanted to add a private holiday to their business trips in the next twelve months.

U.S. HOTELS WILL generate $46.71 billion in state and local tax revenue, more than ever before, according to a survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics. Occupancy is expected to continue its recovery, the report said, but challenges remain. Average U.S. hotel occupancy is projected to reach 63.8 percent in 2023, just under 2019's level of 65.9 percent, according to AHLA. However, the labor shortage is expected to continue this year as hotels seek to fill jobs lost in the pandemic. As of December, national average hotel wages were at historic highs of more than $23 an hour and hotel benefits and flexibility are better than ever. Nearly 100,000 hotel jobs are currently open across the nation, according to job search site Indeed. "Hotels are making significant strides toward recovery, supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in state and local tax revenue in communities across the nation," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "To continue growing, we need to hire more people. Fortunately, there's never been a better time to be a hotel employee, with wages, benefits, flexibility and upward mobility better than ever before."

THE REPRESENTATION OF Black and women members on hotel industry boards is on the rise, signaling progress in board diversity, according to recent research commissioned by AHLA Foundation and conducted by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management. The surge surpasses the 2022 averages for firms in the Russell 3000 Index, while indicating multiple gains for the industry. The 2022 data analysis involved 230 board members from 28 companies spanning the years 2016 to 2022, the AHLA Foundation said. Key findings from the report include: In 2022, women held 31.3 percent of independent board seats on hotel public company boards, a notable surgefrom 22.5 percent in 2021. This surpasses the 2022 Russell 3000 Index average of 28.4 percent for women representation.

U.S. HOTELS ADDED 700 jobs in May, highlighting persistent workforce shortages, with 191,500 vacancies since early 2020, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. However, a survey by AHLA of hoteliers in May found 76 percent of respondents are experiencing a staffing shortage and 13 percent reported they are severely understaffed, meaning the shortage is affecting their hotel's ability to operate. By comparison, in a January survey, 67 percent said they were experiencing a staffing shortage, and 72 percent said they were unable to fill open positions. Total hotel employment is now approximately 1.92 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is still 191,500 short of pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, highlighting the ongoing struggle to find workers.

AS THE LABOR shortage continues, hotels are offering more incentives to attract new employees, according to a survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. They include higher wages, more benefits and greater scheduling flexibility. AHLA's Front Desk Feedback survey of more than 500 hoteliers, conducted Jan. 10 to 17, found that 79 percent of responding hotels were experiencing staffing shortages. Also, 71 percent of respondents are increasing wages, 64 percent are offering greater flexibility with hours and 33 percent are expanding benefits. Despite that, 81 percent said they are still unable to fill open positions. Also, 79 percent of respondents are experiencing a staffing shortage, severely so for 22 percent. The most critical staffing need is housekeeping, with 43 percent ranking it as their top hiring need. At the same time, in September, 87 percent of respondents said they were short staffed, 36 percent severely, with 43 percent ranking housekeeping as their top hiring need at the time. Respondents are attempting to fill an average of seven positions per property, down from 10 vacancies per property in September. "Recruiting enough workers continues to be the top challenge for many hoteliers, and this is leading to historic career opportunities for hotel employees," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO.

THE HOTEL INDUSTRY is poised for a fairly strong year in 2023 despite remaining concerns about a downturn, according to a pair of reports. Continuing demand is expected to overcome extra labor costs and economic vagaries to propel performance above pre-pandemic levels, according to the reports from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and STR. The state of the industry AHLA's 2023 State of the Hotel Industry Report projects that demand, nominal room revenue and state and local tax revenue all are well on the way to recovery. Operational challenges, such as staffing shortages and economic factors will replace COVID as hoteliers' top concerns, the report predicts. "Three years after the unprecedented hardships our industry faced due to the pandemic, hotels continue to make significant strides toward recovery," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "2022 saw one of the strongest summer travel seasons ever, and this year we expect hotels to reach new heights in terms of room revenue, room-night demand and state and local tax revenue. But when inflation is taken into account, our industry likely won't see full recovery for several more years. Nevertheless, hotel performance is trending in the right direction - great news for our industry and our employees, who are enjoying better pay, more career opportunities, upward mobility and flexibility than ever before."

U.S. HOTELS ADDED 700 jobs to their payrolls in June, according to the latest government data, but the nationwide workforce shortage continues to make it difficult for hotels to fill open positions, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Total hotel employment stands at about 1.92 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is more than 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2020, reflecting a scarcity of available employees. Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down the total number of hotel jobs in the country, which eliminated job gains for the industry that were reported in prior months, AHLA said in a statement. "Halfway through 2024, the hotel industry is behind where it needs to be when it comes to hiring staff, despite near-record high wages and expanding workplace benefits and flexibility," said Kevin Carey, AHLA's interim president and CEO. "The reason is the nationwide workforce shortage, which is preventing hoteliers from meeting their full potential as demand for travel remains strong. Both Congress and the administration can provide relief to our members, many of whom are small business owners, and AHLA will continue to call for action to expand the pool of available workers."

MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS of hotels are struggling with staffing shortages, leading hoteliers to offer increased pay and a variety of incentives to attract and retain talent, according to a new survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. In response, AHLA is calling on Congress to take action. Around 82 percent of respondents have increased wages in the last six months, reaching a record high average for hotels in December 2023, according to the survey. Additionally, 59 percent are offering greater flexibility with hours, and 33 percent are expanding benefits. Despite these efforts, 72 percent said they are still unable to fill open positions. Approximately 67 percent of survey respondents reported a staffing shortage, with 12 percent describing it as "severely understaffed," impacting their operations, the survey said. Housekeeping emerges as the most critical need, cited by 48 percent as their top hiring priority. These figures mark an improvement from May 2023 when 82 percent reported staffing shortages.

THE RECOVERY MAY be under way, but most of the top U.S. markets, 21 out of 25, remain at a recession or depression level, according to a report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Urban markets are in worst shape, with most still in a "depression cycle." The overall U.S. hotel industry remains in a "recession," according to AHLA's report citing STR data. The difficulty for urban markets is that they depend substantially on business from events and group meetings. Room revenue was down 52 percent in May compared to May 2019. New York City, for example, is still in a depression with nearly 200 hotels in the city closed due to the pandemic, taking with them 42,030 rooms, one-third of the city's supplies. Leisure travel is currently driving the recovery, but business and group travel, the industry's largest source of revenue, will take longer to recover. Current forecasts show that segment returning to 2019 levels in 2023 or 2024. Several major events, conventions and business meetings have already been canceled or postponed until at least 2022.

THE 12TH EDITION of Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry is now launched. Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals published the revised edition, overseen by the Global Finance Committee and jointly sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and HFTP. The publication added financial and operating changes, a sustainability section, and a section specific to all-inclusive hotels, with an adoption date of Jan. 1, 2026. The GFC comprises global financial leaders from AHLA's financial management committee and HFTP members representing the most prominent global hotel brands, operators, owners, and other industry authorities, AHLA said in a statement. "The USALI has long been the compass guiding financial and operational reporting in hospitality," said Gina Tallarico, GFC co-chair and Hyatt's global head of acquisition integration. "This update signifies GFC's commitment to globalization, sustainability, and informed decision-making. With this 12th Revised Edition, we're excited to introduce a new all-inclusive reporting section - an initial step toward standardization and benchmarking capability in this rapidly -growing segment."

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL revenue of U.S. hotels is expected to drop $20 billion this year, down 23 percent when compared to 2019, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs. It is already reported that hotels lost an estimated $108 billion in business travel revenue during 2020 and 2021 combined. The report said that business travel revenue, the largest source of revenue in hotel industry, will take significantly longer to recover. However, leisure travel is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, the report added. "While dwindling COVID-19 case counts and relaxed CDC guidelines are providing a sense of optimism for reigniting travel, this report underscores how tough it will be for many hotels and hotel employees to recover from years of lost revenue," said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. "The good news is that after two years of virtual work arrangements, Americans recognize the unmatched value of face-to-face meetings and say they are ready to start getting back on the road for business travel."

U.S. HOTEL LEISURE travel revenue is projected to rise 14 percent this year over pre-pandemic levels and business travel revenue is expected to be within 1 percent of 2019 range, according to a report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs. However, these projections are not adjusted for inflation, and real hotel revenue recovery may take many years, a statement said. Among the top 50 U.S. markets, 80 percent are projected to see hotel leisure travel revenue exceed 2019 levels, but just 40 percent are expected reach that milestone for business travel revenue. Many urban markets are yet to recover due to their dependence on business from events and group meetings, the report said. All markets in the top 10 are likely to report increase in leisure travel revenue except New York, Washington and San Francisco. Whereas, in business travel revenue only Orlando, Las Vegas and San Diego will end up this year in green among the top 10.