Whitbread: Restructuring resulted in fewer job cuts
Premier Inn owner Whitbread said Thursday that a restructuring of its hotels and restaurants had resulted in around 1,500 job cuts, rather than the 6,000 predicted, and that it had outperformed the British market. Although total U.K. accommodation sales for Whitbread, which is based in Houghton Regis, England, were down 55.2% for the 13 weeks ended November 26, it said its performance over this period was 8.9 percentage points ahead of the midscale and economy market.
D.C. hotel union calls for hotels to close until after inauguration
The union representing more than 7,000 hotel employees in the Washington, D.C., area is calling on hoteliers to shut their doors temporarily unless they are hosting law enforcement or security personnel — the latest in a series of efforts to keep residents safe as right-wing groups threaten armed protests in the city leading up to Inauguration Day on January 20. D.C. officials said they likely will not move to shut down the city’s hotels ahead of the inauguration — but some could choose to close anyway, as fears about more violence persist.
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U.S. occupancy falls back below the 40% mark
U.S. weekly hotel occupancy fell back below the 40% mark, according to STR‘s latest data through 9 January.
January 3-9 (percentage change from comparable week in 2020):
Occupancy: 37.0% (-28.3%)
ADR: US$87.97 (-27.1%)
RevPAR: US$32.59 (-47.7%)
The previous week’s occupancy was lifted by New Year’s travel. As that holiday travel dissipated, TSA checkpoint counts and hotel room demand each declined by roughly 1.3 million in a week-over-week comparison.
Aggregate data for the top 25 markets showed lower occupancy (35.8%) but higher ADR (US$93.85) than all other markets. Among the top 25 markets, Miami/Hialeah, Florida (51.4%), saw the highest occupancy level, lifted by the College Football Playoff National Championship. Of note, Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia, reported two days (Tuesday/Wednesday) with occupancy above 50% amid the unrest in the capital. For the week, occupancy reached 36.9%. Top 25 markets with the lowest occupancy levels for the week included Oahu Island, Hawaii (22.1%), and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota-Wisconsin (24.2%).
AHLA suggests hotels as vaccine distribution sites
In an open letter to the Biden Administration transition team, CDC, HHS, NGA, Operation Warp Speed and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers advocated for hotel properties to be used as vaccine distribution sites across America.
“America’s hotels stand ready to work alongside America’s governors as states continue to move forward in administrating the COVID-19 vaccine. By quickly mobilizing an existing network of sites, hotels can help strengthen the delivery and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in communities across the country to better streamline and build on current state efforts,” Rogers said. Here’s why, he said: factors including geographic reach, available capacity and 24/7 operation, comprehensive cleanliness protocols, infrastructure and refrigeration capabilities.