England arrivals can soon reduce quarantine with test
People arriving in England from abroad will be soon able to reduce their quarantine by more than half if they pay for a COVID test after five days, the transport secretary has announced. The rules will come into force from December 15 and the tests from private firms will cost between £65 (US$87) and £120 (US$160). Under the new travel rules, passengers who arrive from a foreign destination not on the government’s travel corridors list will still need to enter self-isolation. However, if they pay for a test after five days and it comes back negative, they will no longer need to self-isolate. The English travel industry welcomed the policy but described it as “long overdue.”
U.S. occupancy continues to slip
U.S. weekly hotel occupancy continued to slip further from previous weeks, according to the latest data from STR through November 21.
November 15-21 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019):
Occupancy: 41.2% (-32.6%)
ADR: US$88.54 (-29.0%)
RevPAR: US$36.45 (-52.2%)
The past three weeks have produced occupancy levels of 43.2%, 44.4% and 44.1%. Aggregate data for the top 25 markets showed lower occupancy (37.8%) but higher ADR (US$94.21) than all other markets. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (50.4%) was the only Top 25 Market to reach or surpass 50% occupancy. Markets with the lowest occupancy levels for the week included Oahu Island, Hawaii (22.9%), and Chicago, Illinois (26.6%).
Union sides with SBA on data collection for loans
Hotel workers’ union Unite Here urged the U.S. Small Business Administration to move forward with plans to collect more data from some recipients of the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan program, despite pressure from industry groups to subject borrowers to less scrutiny. The data would allow SBA to determine if the largest PPP recipients actually needed the money when they requested loans, and could also shed light on how much of the money was actually used as Congress intended: to provide income and health benefits to workers. SBA recently issued a provisional form asking PPP recipients for basic information about their businesses. A group of 80 business groups – including the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Hotel and Lodging Association – objected, and asked Congress to make SBA withdraw the request for data.
What hotel marketers think about Black Friday, Cyber Monday
With today’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday comes the traditional sales days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But this year, many businesses are stretching out their sales to start earlier and last longer, including many hotels. During a recent call, members of HSMAI’s Marketing Advisory Board discussed their sale plans and how coronavirus has changed how they traditionally execute them. The majority of board members on the call said that they ran a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale last year and are planning on doing it again this year, but with a few changes, including deeper discounts and sales partnerships with OTAs.