Report: 8% of Arkansas’ hotel jobs won’t return by year-end

A new report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) predicts that 8.3% of Arkansas’ hotel jobs will not return by the end of the year. AHLA projects hotels will lose $44 billion nationally this year, compared with 2019.

“Despite an uptick in leisure travel, midway through 2021, we still see that the road to a full recovery for America’s hotels is long and uneven. These findings show the economic devastation still facing hotel markets and underscore the need for targeted relief from Congress for hotel workers and small businesses,” Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA, said in a news release.

This year, Arkansas only has about 11,700 hotel jobs. That’s down from more than 12,800 in 2019. There were only a little more than 10,700 hotel jobs in 2020.

Arkansas’ projections remain much better than the national average. Nearly 500,000 jobs, or more than 20%, won’t return by the end of 2021, compared with pre-pandemic levels. The percent decline is most severe in the District of Columbia (43.1%), Illinois (35.2%) and New York (37.9%).

Montine McNulty, CEO of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, said the state’s current level of leisure travel is robust.

“That’s good news. It could be even better if hotels could be running with a full staff,” McNulty said. “The dire need for all levels of employees impacts the hotels’ ability to turn over rooms and provide basic services. Convention and large event business are slow to return and is predicted to take more time. Hotels that serve that need are hurting, and that is not likely to change any time soon.”

Despite being among the hardest hit by the pandemic, hotels are the only segment of the hospitality and leisure industry yet to receive direct COVID-related aid.

“The lodging industry needs targeted financial help now to prevent closures,” McNulty said.