Hotels poised for strong holiday season fueled by business travel uptick

27.11.2023 - 09:47 / traveldailynews.com / Chip Rogers / Theodore Koumelis

Hotels continue hiring spree to meet demand, ask Congress for help with more workers.

WASHINGTON  – The business outlook for hotels remains strong for the remainder of 2023 thanks to an uptick in business travel and a healthy preference among business and leisure travelers to stay in hotels.

According to a survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and conducted by Morning Consult, 68% of Americans whose jobs involve travel said they were likely to travel overnight for business during the last three months of 2023, up from 59% in 2022. Hotels are the top lodging choice for 81% of business travelers surveyed.

The survey found that 32% of Americans are likely to travel overnight for Thanksgiving, up from 28% a year earlier, while 34% are likely to travel overnight for Christmas, up from 31% last year. Meanwhile, 37% of Americans said they were likely to travel overnight for leisure during the last three months of 2023, down slightly from 39% in 2022.

The survey also found that travel attitudes have largely returned to pre-pandemic norms. 71% of Americans now say their likelihood of staying in hotels is the same as prior to the pandemic, and nearly 70% of business travelers say their employers have either returned to the pre-pandemic normal or increased amounts of business travel. This is good news for hoteliers, as business travel is one of hotels’ main sources of revenue.

The survey of 4,006 adults was conducted Sept. 18-23, 2023. Other key findings include the following:

“Hotels are going above and beyond to take excellent care of guests as travel approaches pre-COVID levels, and this survey underscores that fact,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “America’s nearly 62,500 hotels are a bright spot for the nation’s economy. To continue growing, they need to hire more people, but a nationwide shortage of workers is preventing hotels from regaining all the jobs we lost to the pandemic. There are a number of steps Congress can take to help address our industry’s workforce challenges. Those include establishing an H-2B returning worker exemption, passing the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, and passing the H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act.”

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.