Industry officials strategize on how to reinvigorate Illinois' travel sector

[July 15, 2022]  By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Travel and tourism is on the rebound in Illinois, with hotels filling up around the state, but there is still a challenge facing the industry.

Due to pandemic-related travel reductions and meeting space restrictions, Illinois hotels lost more than $5.4 billion in room revenue, resulting in a drop of more than $1 billion in state and local tax revenue.

Travel is on the rebound this summer, however, with nearly 7 in 10 Americans planning to travel this summer and 60% saying they are likely to take more vacations this year compared to 2020-2021, according to a survey conducted by morning Consult and commissioned by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Officials point out that hotel occupancy rates are on the rise, especially in Chicago.

“It was 78% hotel occupancy last week, compared to 66% for that same week in 2019,” said Michael Jacobson, CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association. “That is the first time that has happened since the beginning of COVID-19.”

Jacobson notes that they are not out of the woods yet with the recent closing of two Chicago hotels and possibly more on the way.

Business travel, a staple of the industry, is on the way back, but not as quickly as leisure travel.

“The more people are back in the office, the more people are traveling,” said Jack Lavin, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

The big question is how to hire and retain enough workers for the surge in travel and tourism. Chip Rogers, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, said if you want a job, there are plenty for the taking.

“Before the pandemic in January 2020, there were about 900,000 job openings in the hotel industry,” Rogers said. “From that point to this point, the industry has now lost another 1.3 million jobs, so you could argue there are close to 2 million job opportunities in our industry right now.”

The industry asked the Illinois General Assembly to appropriate $250 million from the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act tax funds to assist hotels, but the final budget included $75 million, which averages around $450 per hotel room.

When added to three previous taxpayer-backed financial assistance programs for Illinois hotels, the latest round of funding means the industry will receive more than $125 million, which will trickle down to hotels around the state.

Industry officials do not expect a full recovery until late 2024 or sometime in 2025.

Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.