China Overseas Chinese Network, January 28. According to the US "Sing Tao Daily" report, since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, New York's tourism industry has quickly fallen into a trough, and the hotel industry, which is closely connected to the tourism industry, has also been in a slump.
In the past year or so, some hotels have closed.
At the same time, the downturn in the industry has made it more difficult than ever for Chinese to apply for hotel jobs.
"Hotel tax revenue shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the New York City hotel industry. Hotel occupancy taxes have plummeted from more than US$178 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 to less than US$15 million in the fourth quarter of 2020." According to a week’s economic data from the Comptroller of New York City, “Although some city hotels are still open to tourists, homeless people, and recovering COVID-19 patients, most hotels are closed or unoccupied.”
This is not a situation that can be solved in the short term. Unlike small restaurants, most of the hotel's customer source is composed of tourists.
Huang Huaqing, chairman of the American Hotel Chinese Association, said that even if the business of small businesses in New York, such as restaurants, recover, it does not mean that the business of the hotel will improve. "The hotel industry must rely on tourism development to rejuvenate."
Huang Huaqing said that not long ago, the Marriott Hotel located on 48th Street directly laid off more than 800 people; some hotels were originally planned to reopen in January 2021, but now they will postpone the reopening date.
"It is estimated that it will take two or three years for the tourism industry to recover." Huang Huaqing is not optimistic about the short-term prospects of the hotel industry. He said that even if the epidemic has passed, many people will regain income. The first thing they do may be to restore their lives. Normal, rather than choosing to travel; in addition, the epidemic has made many people realize that some things can be done online, and he guessed that many large conferences may no longer choose to be held in hotels in the future.
Compared with large hotels, many small hotels may have relatively better business. Huang Huaqing believes that "because it is cheaper." He said that many hotels that used to be more than 200 nights have now dropped to more than 90, or even more than 60.
"Business" hotels have their own concerns.
Some hotels have signed contracts with New York City to allow homeless and convalescent patients to stay.
However, all kinds of people also cause headaches for hotel owners, "I don't know who is in the room, whether they have a criminal record or their background." Even some people are from New York State or out-of-state.
Huang Huaqing said that the government should provide the hotel owner with the background of the occupants. Although it is organized by the government, "usually staying in a hotel depends on the ID card. If anything goes wrong, the hotel is not safe."
In addition, the Federal Payroll Program (PPP) that some small businesses actively apply for is not applicable to some hotels, because PPP requires users to spend the money within a period of time, but for hotels that do not open for a long time. Said that no workers even go to work, let alone run out of subsidies within the stipulated time.
"There are no tourists now, what can you do? The source of the hotel is tourists." The cruel reality left the hotel owners at a loss.
When the bosses tried their best to sell the hotel, the hotel workers who heard the news became more panicked.
Huang Huaqing said that compared with before, the threshold for recruiting hotels in hotels has increased, making it more difficult for Chinese to work in hotels.
In the past, the workmanship could also be introduced by acquaintances, but now all recruitment is conducted on the website, and the questions raised by the hotel are answered online. Different types of work have different questions and time limits.
"If you take 60 or 70 points, there is no chance at all, and you can't apply again for 90 days."
Huang Huaqing said that many Chinese do not have good English, which makes it more difficult for them to get a job, but he hopes that many people who do not have a job now will not waste time at home. "If you have poor English, you should learn English. "In addition, he also said that many Chinese do not know skills during interviews. "Chinese culture is about modesty, but if you say'maybe' let me try' during the interview, people will not ask you." He suggested applying for the job. Those who practice more interview skills will be more confident and calm during the interview.