Travel industry uses lessons from past COVID waves to deal with omicron

Dec 27, 2021
Like how to reduce contact, reschedule flights and handle the unexpected.
Airlines canceled hundreds of flights over the holiday weekend as the omicron variant spread.
David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

California's Project Roomkey "has really worked for a lot of people"

Dec 13, 2021
A Bay Area nonprofit has helped nearly 400 people move from the program into stable housing.
A resident gathers her belongings in a motel room provided to people needing shelter through Project Roomkey.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

For hotels, leisure travel is roaring back

Nov 3, 2021
Pleasure travel has helped the hotel industry emerge from the depths of the pandemic. But business travel has been slower to bounce back.
The Marriott and Hilton hotel chains recently posted improved financial results, largely on a rebound in leisure travel. Health risks are among the issues still restraining business travel.
Justin Heiman via Getty Images

Consumer prices jump, especially for cars, flights and other ways to get away

May 12, 2021
Inflation data shows that consumer prices went up 4.2% year over year — the most since 2008.
Car-rental prices have leaped, registering a 16% monthly increase in April. Consumer prices overall rose 4.2% year over year, outpacing forecasts.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Hotels try to follow restaurants' lead and hook consumers on QR codes

May 6, 2021
Will the QR code stick around in the long run? Perhaps, if users find the information the codes deliver useful.
From marketing to menus, QR codes have gained traction since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Hotel operators forecast bleak prospects as COVID-19 surges

Nov 19, 2020
The holidays, usually a busy time for the hotel industry, won't help this year as many families stay at home.
A closed hotel is seen in April in New York City.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The job market is still in recovery, but it's also still losing momentum

Nov 6, 2020
The decline in unemployment has slowed since an early rebound from the first wave of COVID-19 shutdowns.
The manufacturing and construction sectors have done pretty well throughout the pandemic, but But, jobs in travel, hotels and restaurants are still way down.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

With the slowdown in travel, many hotels are in a financial squeeze

Aug 20, 2020
Paying back debt is getting harder for hotel owners, according to research by Trepp.
Employees are ready to receive guests at a hotel in Las Vegas. The industry is struggling during the pandemic as many people have canceled travel plans.
David Becker/Getty Images

Hotels, among the first businesses hit by COVID-19, are still less than half full

Jul 31, 2020
In the peak summer season, hotels are usually at least 80% full.
Since the pandemic started, about 1 in 3 hotel workers have been laid off and not called back, said Nick Bunker at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Would you miss tiny bottles of shampoo in hotel bathrooms?

Nov 25, 2019
Major hotel brands are promising to get rid of one of the most recognizable elements of the hotel experience: tiny bottles of shampoo.
Small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion sit in a bathroom at a SpringHill Suites, a hotel operated by Marriott, in August in New Orleans.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images