Hotels across North Carolina are seeing business rebound as events and conventions resume, but many have a long road to recovery after suffering two years of pandemic losses.
The most recent figures from the North Carolina Department of Revenue show sales were up 28% in January 2022 compared to January 2019 at North Carolina hotels.
Other key metrics are also looking up for the industry. According to Smith Travel Research, average daily rates are nearly back to where they were before the pandemic (about $103), and North Carolina's hotel occupancy rate hit 55.7% last month, compared to 45.3% in February 2021.
That's welcome news to Lynn Minges, president of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. However, she says it doesn't mean hotels are fully back in the clear.
"They're beginning to rebound as meetings and conventions come back," Minges said, "but the challenge is over the two years, they've taken on such significant losses that they're trying to make up for lost time."
One of the other big challenges facing hotels — and many other industries — is staffing. North Carolina hotelslost an estimated 4,400 employees during the pandemic, according to the state Department of Commerce.
Minges estimates the state's hotels may need up to 6,000 workers to become fully staffed, considering many new hotels opened up during the pandemic, creating more demand for managers, receptionists, valets, cleaners and cooks.
The staffing shortage could impede some hotel's recoveries, Minges said, "because in many cases, they're taking hotel rooms out of inventory — just leaving them unsold — because they don't have staff to service those guests."
Minges said hotels are also concerned rising gas prices have the potential to slow down the recovery.
