FLORIDA — Tourism may be looking up, but hotel owners and managers say they could use help from lawmakers on filling the financial hole they fell into during the pandemic — when no one was traveling or staying in hotels.  In fact, the American Hotel and Lodging Association says a recent survey revealed that hotels nationwide lost ten years of job growth in just the last year.

Azim Saju, CEO and president of HDG Hotels, which includes nearly two-dozen hotels throughout Central Florida, said the pandemic forced his company to lay off about 10% of their workforce. 

“We thought we were going to recover as we headed into summer, and then the Florida numbers got worse,” he said.

Saju says Florida’s unique ability to bounce back through tourism prevented him from having to lay off more workers. And things are looking up as he’s expecting a busy tourism season this summer in Central Florida. 

But AHLA says their recent survey shows less than a third of Americans are planning on visiting U.S. cities and urban areas this summer.  Saju said economic struggles — even in other places — still directly affect his business by driving his costs up.

“When the industry overall isn’t doing well, access to credit is impacted as a result and is not readily available — or the credit that is available is expensive money,” he said.

AHLA says hotels are the only segment of the hospital and leisure industry yet to get direct aid from the federal government . That’s why the organization is asking lawmakers to pass the Save Hotel Jobs Act introduced, in part, by Florida Rep. Charlie Christ.

“Hotels in particular are going to need support to allow them to fully recover and come back, and provide jobs and positively impact the communities in which they do business,” said Saju.

Despite the struggles, Saju remains hopeful.

“We’re definitely trending up,” he said.​