Travel to lose 200,000+ jobs

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Nearly 200,000 travel-related jobs were lost in 2008. Another 247,000 are forecasted for 2009. And, the financial crisis is still developing. While we lament the loss of six- and seven-figure investment banking jobs, let’s not forget what those big money gigs mean for the travel industry.

Consider your average Wall Street titan. He’s still pulling down more than $1 million a year (somehow). So, he’s sitting on the couch in his rather large Chelsea apartment, wondering, “Do I need to take that golf trip down to Naples for the weekend?” For him, it’s throwaway. If he doesn’t head out for a few days, his life doesn’t change much.

Now, multiply this by several Wall Street titans for that weekend. Most of them decide to stay at home. Who suffers?

Well, an empty restaurant is a waiter’s nightmare. It’s also rough for the spa therapists, housekeepers and everyone else along the “travel supply chain.” Eventually, the companies have to cut back, and we see how that 247,000 projection becomes a reality.

For this reason, 10 of the largest hotel companies in the United States have urged members of Congress to remember the importance of business travel when developing legislation and regulations that may “unintentionally hinder economic recovery and cost American jobs.”

The hotel companies are: Carlson, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Loews, Marriott, Starwood and Wyndham Worldwide.

Hotels to Start Building 13th Floors?

by Jonathon Morgan on

Thanks to the commonly-held superstition that 13 is an unlucky number, hotels have traditionally been built without a 13th floor (or, more accurately, mis-labeled their floors so that 12 is followed by 14). The practice is so widespread, in fact, that most travels can’t recall ever seeing one. But, while most new hotels follow suit, the Starwood chain appears to be bucking the trend, recently including the 13th floor in four of it’s new Westin hotels.

So has the move caused mass hysteria? Have the builders all fallen mysteriously ill or disappeared?

The answer, in short, is no. It’s certainly been a conversation starter, but a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll suggests that the vast majority of Americans wouldn’t mind staying on a floor labeled “13,” with only 9% saying that they’d be compelled to request a room change.

A bigger problem than traveler discomfort, it seems, is the potential confusion this move might cause for fire departments. It’s so common for hotels to skip the 13th floor, that most assume it isn’t there.

What about you? Would you be uncomfortable staying on the 13th floor, or is this merely an out of control superstition?