MNI BRIEF: Canceled Trips Put US Hospitality Hiring at Risk

Leisure travelers in the U.S. are canceling vacation plans amid rising Covid cases, the American Hotel and Lodging Association said Wednesday, causing businesses like hotels and restaurants to cut back on hiring in the near-term. Roughly 69% of the 2,200 adults surveyed by the AHLA between August 11 - 12 said they were planning on taking fewer trips and 65% said they were likely to take shorter trips due to fear of exposure to Covid. About 42% said they would cancel existing trips with no plans to reschedule, and 55% said they would postpone existing travel plans until a later date.

Nearly 500,000 hotel jobs lost during the pandemic won't return before the end of this year, the AHLA said, and an additional 1.3 million hotel-supported jobs, in industries like retail and restaurants, are also at risk.

Leisure and hospitality hiring, a primarily driver of overall job growth through the pandemic recovery, faltered in August, as 42,000 foodservice jobs were lost, more than offsetting a 36,000 job gain in entertainment and recreation.