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2023 was a big year for the hotel industry. Has its recovery peaked?

Feb 20, 2024
Hotels increased prices per room in 2023. But occupancy was still below pre-pandemic levels.
Last year, IHG's earnings climbed above $1 billion for the first time.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Hotels get creative as the hospitality labor market remains tight

Sep 4, 2023
Employment in the field is slowly growing, but some companies are highlighting their role in the community to attract workers.
One of the bars at San Diego's LaFayette Hotel and Club. The hotel rushed to staff up before its grand opening and was able to hire 140 workers.
Courtesy the LaFayette Hotel

This wedding planner's service costs have raised the cost of her service

Feb 1, 2023
"We have all these extra fees that we really didn't have before," says events specialist Irene Tynedale. But prices will still fluctuate.
Irene Tynedale reports that service vendors have told her they've had to turn down business because they lacked enough staff.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

At a historic Buffalo, NY, inn, fair wages mean there's no such thing as a labor shortage

Nov 1, 2022
Joseph Lettieri, co-owner and operator of InnBuffalo off Elmwood, almost sold the hotel in 2020. Now, it's the busiest it's ever been.
InnBuffalo Off Elmwood co-owner Joseph Lettieri said business is the busiest it's ever been.
Courtesy Ellen Carlstrom

Rebooting a multibillion-dollar business after tens of thousands of layoffs

Nov 1, 2022
Jerry and Lou Jacobs, co-CEOs of global hospitality company Delaware North, say inflation is a bigger concern than labor right now.
Jerry, left, and Lou Jacobs are co-CEOs of Buffalo-based company Delaware North. Inflation requires the business to be agile and flexible, Lou Jacobs says.
Brandon Watson

How much tax-funded tourist promotion money does a popular destination need?

Aug 18, 2022
In the tourist hot spot of the Texas Big Bend, some raise concerns about taxes used to promote even more tourism.
Some locals in the Big Bend area would like to see the hotel occupancy tax go toward housing assistance or building new roads. Above, the entrance to the Terlingua Ghost Town in the Big Bend region.
Hannah Gentiles

Summer jobs are plentiful. Applicants are not.

May 31, 2022
Summer tourism industries continue to face a worker shortage and climbing wages. Teenagers, especially, are in demand.
The American Lifeguard Association warns that a third of U.S. public pools could remain closed this summer due to staffing shortages.
Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

After 18 months, hotel housekeeper still doesn't have her job back

Sep 21, 2021
Changes in the hotel industry are affecting Hawaii housekeeper Mary Taboniar, a single mom.
"I hope that the hotel will bring us back to work," says Mary Taboniar. "I'm hoping for a normal life again."
Courtesy Mary Taboniar

How a food business tied to the hotel industry is recovering from COVID-19

Apr 20, 2021
“We're not there yet,” said Kurt Loudenback, CEO of Grand Prairie Foods. “But we feel pretty optimistic about 2021.”
As travel demand bounces back, Kurt Loudenback, CEO of a company that makes hotel breakfast food, is optimistic that his business will return to pre-pandemic levels.
Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Some industries still have a long way to go to recover from the pandemic

Apr 6, 2021
But in the public sector, and especially education, jobs may come back soon because of money in the latest COVID relief package.
The industries that have the furthest to go are ones you'd maybe expect: leisure and hospitality, accommodations, food services and restaurants.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images