Dive Brief:
- More than 30 hospitality industry associations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Latino Hotel Association and National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers, sent a joint letter on Wednesday to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate urging government leaders to end the shutdown, according to an AHLA release.
- To date, the shutdown has resulted in an estimated $650 million in lost hotel business, according to AHLA, with each day of the shutdown costing the economy $31 million “in activity that would’ve been generated by hotel stays.”
- In the letter, the industry associations said the shutdown created uncertainty and interfered with “hotels’ ability to prepare for the holiday season, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year.”
Dive Insight:
As the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, enters its fourth week, AHLA, its members and allied organizations called on congressional leaders to reopen the government as soon as possible and restore services that impact travel and tourism. In particular, the letter warns that an “ongoing federal government shutdown will cause travel delays and weaken traveler confidence,” which could lead to travel postponements and cancellations.
“The government shutdown is having a devastating impact on the hotel, travel, and hospitality sectors,” Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of AHLA, said in the release. “Economic uncertainty and waning consumer confidence are translating into booking cancelations and discouraging future planning especially as we head into the heart of the holiday travel season.”
An Oct. 9 U.S. Travel Association website ticker estimated that the U.S. lost more than $1.2 billion in domestic travel spending in the first week of the shutdown alone. That economic impact further exacerbates challenges the hotel industry has been navigating as CoStar and Tourism Economics downgraded their 2025 and 2026 growth projections for U.S. hotel top-line performance metrics in August.
AAHOA Chairman Kamalesh Patel said in the release that every day of the shutdown puts small businesses and jobs at risk.
“When the government shuts down, uncertainty ripples across every community,” Patel said. “Conferences get canceled, families postpone trips, and hotels lose valuable business.”
According to AHLA, hotels generate more than $894 billion in GDP annually and contribute $85 billion in state, local and federal taxes combined.
