
The Hampton Roads area has historically benefited from strong leisure and tourism demand, government activity at the area’s military facilities, and corporate travel. Since early March 2020, however, the Hampton Roads lodging market has suffered a decline in demand, like most metropolitan areas in the United States, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. How much of an impact has the market experienced, and how quickly can this historically stable market recover?

The Pandemic’s negative effect on the hospitality industry, especially its ability to hire new associates, will be long felt even as we see signs of recovery. Many have left the industry for other opportunities considered more stable. The more leadership can recognize, motivate, and reward team members, the stronger the chances are of rebuilding and retaining staff for the long term.

Hotels in Fort Lauderdale and the greater market recorded a banner year in 2019. The new decade kicked off a strong start with expectations that the momentum would continue, led by the demand from Super Bowl LIV held in nearby Miami Gardens. However, the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020 brought travel to a sudden standstill across the nation, immediately impacting hotels in the local market.

Vaccine rollouts, an increase in local and regional non-air travel trends and higher transaction volumes are all positive news supporting an elevated degree of confidence for a market rebound. Multiple announcements made by large investment funds committing to substantial capital injections into the hospitality lending space will also provide a boost.

A record-breaking decade of growth in the Los Angeles hospitality market was brought to a halt by COVID-19 in 2020. A year after the start of the pandemic, we explore the changing dynamics of this market.

Over the past year, the Albuquerque and New Mexico market have suffered unprecedented declines in demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These declines have been driven by more restrictive state-imposed limitations on travel and business operations, especially for hotels. As the state begins to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions, we examine the recovery outlook.

Rod Clough, President – Americas, interviewed McKenna Luke, Senior Vice President, Albuquerque and Michael Smithson, Vice President, Phoenix overseeing the Southwest region, on April 8, 2021, to discuss the current Phoenix market dynamics and the outlook for recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected hotels in the greater San Antonio market since early March 2020, similar to most cities in the United States. How far has the San Antonio hotel market fallen? When is group demand expected to rebound? What will the recovery look like?

As we observe World Autism Awareness Day, we want to highlight what our industry can do to help support individuals with autism. To better understand the diversity challenges, growing diversity programs, and opportunities to be more inclusive within the hospitality industry, we interviewed the founders of Autism Double-Checked, an organization that provides autism-specific training to hotel staff to create more autism-friendly travel experiences.

Since March 2020, Boise hotels have suffered unprecedented declines in demand, similar to most cities in the United States, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Which factors affected 2020 hotel performance, and what key elements are expected to influence hotels in the Treasure Valley’s capital? What will the recovery look like?