Hospitality Jobs Report Summary

• Covid-19 hurt the industry desperately in 2020
• Sharing economy dynamics is shaking up the industry
• Hiring and recruitment in hospitality roles has changed due to health factors
• Cost of labor will effect future services

How was 2020 for Hospitality Jobs?

Covid-19 has been catastrophic for the hospitality industry, with jobs and companies lost for good. But even before the effects of Covid-19 were in full swing, the hospitality industry has been in the midst of large-scale disruption. But Covid-19’s impact on the can be seen in a few numbers. U.S. RevPAR was forecast to decline by 37% in 2020, with the 2nd quarter accounting for nearly 60% of the loss. Additionally, demand for hotel accommodation fell by 28% in 2020, mostly driven by the travel and gathering constraints instituted by global governments in an attempt to quell the spread of the coronavirus.

The rise of the sharing economy is a continuing trend that the hospitality industry saw in 2020. Services like Airbnb and Uber are introducing new competition into markets and are taking a share of the hospitality industry with them. Airbnb is becoming a behemoth of a competitor to global hotels, with a global supply and demand capabilities and a brand that is recognizable across the world.

Hospitality Jobs 2021 Performance

Few industries were hit harder than the hospitality industry by Covid-19 in 2020, and as we enter 2021, the end is closer due to mass vaccinations, but the hospitality industry is not expecting to rebound to pre-Covid levels for a few years. But, as the global economy marches back to some level of recovery, the hospitality industry will adjust, adapt, and recover alongside.

A few statistics to show how hard the global pandemic hit the hospitality industry:

• Original forecasts for global revenue across travel and tourism for 2020 was $712 billion. Actual revenue fell to around $447 billion.
• The UN predicted a loss of 4.2% of global GDP as a result of a 12 month shut down across tourism.
• Consulting firm McKinsey predicts that international tourist arrivals will decrease 60 – 80% in 2020, and tourism spending is not likely to return to pre-crisis levels until 2024.

Where is the Hospitality Jobs Growth

As the sharing economy continues to grow we can expect to see a larger market share going to new companies like Airbnb and Uber. The fast growth these companies are currently experiencing allude to them having a large market share in the future as consumer confidence in the sharing economy continues to grow and these services are normalized.

The market trend of online vacation planning has been around for quite awhile now. However, the rise of using mobile devices as a primary means to booking trips is a new phenomenon. This presents a new opportunity, mainly for OTAs, as they compete for consumers in need of assistance to make travel planning easy, but could also help hotels to have an edge in competition if they make booking through an app a pleasant consumer experience.

The rise of technology has the potential to possibly eliminate travel agencies entirely as it becomes easier for hotels and guests to have direct contact with each other through Internet connected mobile devices.

Hospitality Job Market Challenges

The hospital job market challenges for 2021 are apparent – with COVID-19 impacting company’s ability to hire and keep talent on-site and in-person. However, there are numerous decade long-trends that indicate that hospitality, as an industry, is still on the uptick. Between 2009-2017 US Hotel gross bookings grew from $116B to $185B. Airline revenue jumped from $155B to $222B during the same period. The adoption of technological advances and the younger demographic’s propensity to want to travel means tourism, travel, and hospitality as whole will rebound strongly.