RALEIGH, N.C. — After big layoffs in 2020, the hotel industry is hoping for a comeback.

 

What You Need To Know

  • The general manager at Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley says in 2020, they went from 130 associates to 12 during the pandemic

  • The hotel is under Concord Hospitality Group. It has more than 120 hotels country wide

  • It adopted the "Purestay" initiative in 2020. Setting a standard for new cleaning practice

Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley General Manager Shea Cline says in 2020, the hotel went from 130 associates to 12.

And even though many people stopped traveling because of the pandemic, Cline says the consistent guests were NCAA sports teams.

"We get leads through, say the University of Miami, and then they'll say, 'wow we had a great experience here,' and they'll pass it onto their gymnastics coach.” Cline says.

This hotel is a part of Concord Hospitality Enterprises. Senior Vice President of Capital and Communications Debra Punke says seeing the decrease in staff was disheartening.

Punke says Concord had around 6,000 employees in March 2020, then it had to lay off around 4,800 of them. Now, almost a year later, it's back to around half of its associates.

Concord developed a "Purestay" initiative for all of its hotels across the country. It has now changed everything from the way guests are served food, to the way rooms are cleaned.

According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, hotel occupancy rates were down significantly from 2019 to 2020.

Cline and Punke hope a new year and new changes help bring guests back through the doors.