State and local tax revenues from hotel operations nationwide are forecast to decline by $16.8 billion this year, according to a new Oxford Economics report published by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).
The AHLA noted that hotels contributed $660 billion to national gross domestic product and were responsible for 8.3 million U.S. jobs, or 1 in 25 positions. Due to the disruptions created by the pandemic, New York”™s hotel industry is projected to lose $1.3 billion in state and local tax revenue ”“ tying with Florida for the second greatest losses in the nation. Connecticut is projected to lose $287.1 million, second only to Massachusetts for the New England region.
The association stated that these figures represent the direct tax revenue decrease from diminished hotel guest activity ”“ including occupancy, sales and gaming taxes ”“ but do not include the potential effects on property taxes supported by hotels, which totals nearly $9 billion nationwide.
“Getting our economy back on track starts with supporting the hotel industry and helping them regain their footing,” said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO.
“Hotels positively impact every community across the country, creating jobs, investing in communities and supporting billions of dollars in tax revenue that local governments use to fund education, infrastructure and so much more. However, with the impact to the travel sector nine times worse than 9/11, hotels need support to keep our doors open and retain employees as we work toward recovery. We expect it will be years before demand returns to peak 2019 levels.”
