Americans may not be eager to travel this summer, but they’re strongly in favor of helping restaurants, hotels and other tourism-dependent industries bounce back from the pandemic’s economic wallop, according to research from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).
A survey conducted for the lodging-industry trade group found that 70% of Americans would like to see lawmakers provide more stimulus spending to aid the hospitality and travel industries. Nearly two-thirds (61%) also favor the adoption of temporary federal tax incentives to encourage travel.
Nearly the same percentage (63%) say they’d support the adoption of federal requirements that banks forgo or defer hotels’ mortgage payments until the industry recovers.
The research was conducted for the AH&LA by Morning Consult. It comes as industries are mustering for a new fit of lobbying in Washington, D.C. to shape the next flight of federal relief or stimulus spending. Lawmakers have started to float the elements they’d like to see in the next aid package.
The Morning Consult data shows how dramatically hotels have been hurt by social distancing and stay-at-home measures. Only 18% of the participants in its survey had spent a night away from home since March, when the pandemic began.
The AH&LA has also released information that shows how lodging’s sales freefall has hurt all taxpayers. The drop in travel will cost states, counties and municipalities about $16.8 billion this year in lost sales taxes, according to research conducted for the association by Oxford Economics.