April 2, 2009The hotel industry, like many in today's economy, has seen declining sales in recent years. Bruce Himmelstein, Senior Vice President of Sales at Ritz-Carlton, spoke to Syracuse University students today about the state of the industry and the availability of hotel jobs in the current recession.
"It's a lot more difficult now. The occupancy levels and the demand for hotels and tourism is down all over the world. " Himmelstein says.
Because hotels rely heavily on customer demand, many businesses have had to cut down workforces to compensate for more consumers seeking cheaper forms of housing. According to financial consultant CB Richard Ellis, U.S. hotel sales fell from $45 billion in 2007 to just $12 billion in 2008. Yet despite this decline, Himmelstein still says business will improve.
"We hope that we have found rock bottom and we hope by tours of the fourth quarter of this year, things will start picking up," Himmelstein says. That could also mean more jobs for workers, because as Himmelstein points out, more sales mean more opportunities.
"When that occurs, they'll be more hiring and, in time, more full-time jobs."
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