Labor Issues Still Plague Hotel Industry Post Pandemic

As COVID-19 cases continue to fall and the U.S. economy regains its footing, the hotel industry is cautiously hope­ful that leisure and business travel will swiftly rebound. While the recovery in the U.S. remains fragmented, with some areas such as Florida exceed­ing pre-pandemic RevPAR (revenue per available room) levels, and others such as San Francisco, New York City, Bos­ton and Washington, D.C. remaining well below 2019 levels, the trend is undeni­ably positive in virtually every market.

Even with these reasons for optimism, the restarting of an entire industry is not without complications. Labor issues have always been at the forefront of the hotel industry, especially in places like New York City with an active union for hotel employees, and the pandemic has raised additional issues that have the potential to cause significant near- and long-term changes to the ways hotels do business.