Chicago Hotels Expected To Lose $2 Billion In Revenue By Year’s End, Report Says
September 16, 2021
CBS Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago hotels are expected to lose $2 billion in revenue by the end of the year.
The new figures came down Thursday from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Numbers are based off of business travel – including corporate or government hotel stays.
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Chicago ranks fifth among cities in the nation for projected revenue lost. It comes in at roughly $2.1 billion.
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Industry leaders say the COVID-19 case count increase will lead to canceled, postponed, or downsized travel – and the city’s cold climate in wintertime does not help.
“Hotels will recover. It’s just a matter of when,” said Michael Jacobson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. “I think today’s report shows you that with Chicago’s reliance on business travel, it’s going to take us much longer than hotels in many other cities.”
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The report says business travel revenue is not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024.