Joshua Bernstein, Hospitality Practice Co-Chair, spoke with Law360 on the outlook of the hospitality industry, six months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced travel to come to a stop. According to a report by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, hotels in August remained at a 48.8 percent occupancy rate, compared 74.1 percent during the same time in 2019.
“Despite being six months in, we can't yet determine how the hospitality industry will change and grow from here and what the new normal will look like,” Bernstein said. “It's an open question how much business travel will resume once the pandemic is behind us and whether people prefer Zoom and Skype meetings instead of traveling. In terms of leisure, it's likely to rebound once the epidemic conditions warrant, but a lot of the hospitality industry is focused on business travel.”