From the U.S. Hospitality, Tourism, Travel and Activities (HTTA) Recovery Registry, Jonathan Elkoubi, CCO at VisitorTix, who is managing founder of the organization, has released the results of two HTTA surveys which, together, show its growth, as well as some small but meaningful numbers. While the base of respondents is likely to represent a fair number of respondents from the New York City metropolitan area, the fact that more than 1,400 individuals were motivated enough to respond to a survey is impressive. As for its statistical significance, that is another matter, although the number of respondents—more than 1,400 for the second survey—is sizable by any standard.
Perhaps the most disturbing change in the data from June to July results is the increase in the number of those in the “Unemployed/Laid Off/Job Eliminated” category—from 19 percent to 25 percent. The U.S. government’s Payroll Protection Program (an SBA loan designed to help businesses keep their workforces employed during the coronavirus crisis), which was extended late last month through August 8, is generally regarded as one that has helped tourism business employees keep a job. The expiration of PPP could very well result in more individuals ending up in the “Unemployed/Laid Off/Job Eliminated” category. Stay tuned for next month’s results.
Visit Philadelphia has Job Search Tool: In the meantime, HTTA is planning to expand the range of its activities with the development of a live industry job board, a continuous education resource center, and a recovery information repository. While that process takes place, Elkoubi pointed to a new program at Visit Philadelphia that could be a model for other DMOs who wish to play a more active role in help ex-employees find employment in the industry– https://www.visitphilly.com/jobs/.
In explaining the site to a local news station, Jeff Guaracino, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, said that before the creation of the site, job seekers would have to visit more than 50 different hotel websites to see what position may be available.
“It wasn’t easy to find and was time-consuming,” he added. “Our hope is that this new job section at visitphilly.com will make it quicker and easier for people to see all of the open positions that are currently open, and then down the line to find other positions that might up become available.”
