Today, leaders from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Airlines for America, the U.S. Travel Association and the National Restaurant Association called on the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately vote on the Senate-passed agreement to end the government shutdown.
According to U.S. Travel, nearly $6 billion in travel spending has been lost due to the shutdown since Oct. 1. For the hotel industry alone, each day of the government shutdown costs the economy $31 million in activity that would have otherwise been generated by hotel stays, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. To date, an estimated $1.2 billion in economic activity generated by hotels has been lost.
At the same time, more than 5.2 million airline passengers have been affected by flight delays and cancellations from the onset of the shutdown through this past weekend, according to Airlines for America. Airlines are expecting 31 million passengers—an all-time high—from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1. Consumers also have increased their reliance on air cargo shipments, including lifesaving medical treatments, winter coats, food in addition to shipping gifts for the upcoming winter holidays.
Economic Impact
“We're calling for the House to act swiftly, to reopen the government, to improve travel conditions for the public and to get the travel industry back on track,” Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, said during a press conference on Wednesday. Maietta noted that according to a recent survey commissioned by AHLA, nearly 40 percent of respondents said the shutdown is impacting their future travel plans and nearly 20 percent of Americans have already canceled or changed their Thanksgiving plans because of the shutdown.
After Maietta noted that for every dollar that is spent at a hotel, another $2.34 is spent throughout a guest's trip, Christopher Sununu, president and CEO, Airlines for America, emphasized that the shutdown is not a “political football” to be kicked around. “This is affecting not just the airlines, but the entire American economy,” he said. “You don't hold the American public hostage over a political fight like that.”
While Sununu said that he has not yet heard of canceled flights for the Thanksgiving holiday, Maietta said that shaky consumer confidence is affecting travel. “What we're seeing is that 75 percent have lost or spent money as a result already because of being affected negatively by travel.” Thirty seven percent of adults have said that they are less likely to travel, including over the Thanksgiving period, she added.
Hotels need predictability, Maietta continued, especially when it comes to scheduling team members. “All that ‘unknown’ is causing challenges and negatively impacting staffing,” she said. And as hotels continue to lower guidance for the rest of the year,
Looking Ahead
Maietta said the industry is at the “11th hour” as the holiday season looms. “We need the House to come together and vote on what's before them,” she said. “Americans deserve a functioning government, and that's why we're also calling for a long-term agreement before we have to get into this cycle all over again.”
“There are long-term measures that can be taken to make sure that airlines, hotels travel, the American public isn't held hostage every time there's a tough political debate in Washington—and there [are] going to be a lot more tough political debates,” Sununu added. “They have a chance to to get it right, move things forward and put some resiliency back into the airline business and some confidence back into the American economy.”