WASHINGTON (April 30, 2021) — The U.S. Travel Association and the International Franchise Association (IFA) on Thursday voiced strong support for new legislation that would provide relief for hard-hit hotel workers until travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. 

The Save Hotel Jobs Act, introduced in both chambers of Congress by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), would support jobs in the devastated lodging industry through a combination of direct payroll grants and tax credits, among other provisions. 

The measure earlier won the joint endorsement of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and UNITE HERE, the largest hospitality workers union in North America. 

“Two-thirds of the U.S. jobs lost in 2020 were supported by travel, and there is still a clear need to support those workers until a travel recovery can get off the ground,” said U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes. “Though many have noted some positive signs for domestic leisure travel, an overall travel recovery will be far from complete unless we can bring back the international and business segments, and we are years away from that happening without significant action.” 

“IFA applauds the introduction of the Save Hotel Jobs Act on behalf of the tens of thousands of hotel owners in communities across the country,” said IFA Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs Matthew Haller. “More than 200,000 jobs were lost in the franchise lodging sector, representing a 33% drop in employment. This legislation will allow these franchise owners much-needed time to recover and rebuild their operations, ensuring they can rebuild their workforce and support local communities until travel resumes to pre-pandemic levels.” 

According to U.S. Travel Association data, the drop in travel spending in 2020 resulted in a $1.1 trillion total hit to the U.S. economy. Travel-supported jobs, which accounted for 11% of the U.S. workforce prior to the pandemic, represented a staggering 65% of all the U.S. jobs lost last year.

Click here for the text of the Save Hotel Jobs Act.

U.S. Travel and IFA Contacts

Cathy Reynolds (U.S. Travel)

(C) 703.899.7031

Chris Kennedy (U.S. Travel)

(C) 202.465.6635

Matt Haller (IFA)

(C) 202.460.8356

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U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. In 2020, travel generated $1.5 trillion in economic output and supported 11 million jobs, a drastic decline from pre-pandemic figures. U.S. Travel’s mission is to increase travel to and within the United States. Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related data.

Celebrating 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

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