AHLA, USTA Respond to Halt in COVID Relief Negotiations

WASHINGTON—Chip Rogers, president/CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), and Roger Dow, president/CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, have released statements on the White House ending negotiations surrounding additional COVID relief legislation.

“This is unacceptable and unconceivable with millions of Americans out of work and thousands of small businesses barely hanging on. It’s time for our leaders in Washington to put politics aside and chart a bipartisan path forward to help businesses and employees in the hardest-hit industries,” said Rogers.  “Millions of jobs and the livelihoods of people who have built their small business for decades are just withering away because our leaders in Washington are prioritizing politics over people. America’s hotel industry is on the brink of collapse. We can’t afford to let thousands of small businesses die and all of the jobs associated with them be lost for many years.”

“Hardworking Americans whose livelihoods depend on travel and tourism cannot wait until after the election for relief. The reality is that small businesses in every pocket of America are shuttering—they needed relief months ago, which has been made clear week after week,” said Dow. “With millions of Americans suffering, it is woefully shortsighted to end relief negotiations. New data from Tourism Economics shows that, without immediate aid, 50% of all travel-supported jobs will be lost by December—an additional loss of 1.3 million jobs. As travel supported 11% of all pre-pandemic jobs, it is simply not possible for the U.S. to expect a nationwide economic recovery without meaningful federal relief.”

He continued, “On behalf of America’s travel workers, we are disheartened in the extreme that Congress and the administration failed to reach agreement on the relief this industry so desperately needed, despite clear evidence of mounting harm. U.S. Travel will continue advocating for relief for the millions of travel industry workers and small businesses who do so much for our economy.”