Chair's Message

BY NICK LAMBROW

From my years of working in the banking industry, I know this about operating a successful business: It’s extremely difficult to do in uncertain economic times.

Unfortunately for the hospitality and tourism industry, uncertainty has ruled for more than two years—and it doesn’t appear that much relief is in sight.

Business for hotels, restaurants, conference centers, and tourist attractions throughout Delaware went into freefall in 2020. Last year clearly was better—led by consumers and tourists itching to get out of their houses and the adaptive, entrepreneurial practices of business owners— but for some it still didn’t quite reach the full rebound to pre-pandemic levels that many had hoped for.

Once again, winds are swirling around Delaware’s treasured hospitality and tourism industries.

Looked at through one lens, it’s easy to see a scenario in which hotels, restaurants, and tourist hotspots benefit from families and entertainment-seekers who finally get to take that big vacation to one of Delaware’s beaches or attend a summer festival or other event that has been postponed for the past two years. Looked at another way, soaring gas prices and the resulting increase in costs for many other goods and services could continue to crimp consumer spending on things like weekend getaways to the beach, concert tickets, and nights on the town.

When this message was written, the Congressional Budget Office had just issued a report saying it didn’t expect price increases to return to typical levels under 2024. Like I said, relief (on inflation, at least) doesn’t appear to be coming soon.

If that’s not enough, COVID-19 could still loom as a challenge for any business, and a dire need for workers continues to affect the hospitality and tourism industry as much or more than any other. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in February that collectively, 11.3 million job openings exist in this country and 6.3 million are unemployed—meaning we have 5 million more jobs than people. In addition, all boomers will reach retirement age by 2030. Immigration and birth rates are not keeping up with the exchange rate of that workforce exit.

Earlier this year, the Biden Administration allowed 20,000 more temporary work permits to be made available to immigrants who want to work within the U.S. for a relatively short time—a move industries with strong seasonal business and workforce needs, like hospitality, applauded. However, that’s still a far cry from the number of job openings in hospitality nationwide, which topped 1.3 million late last year.

I’m sure our hospitality and tourism colleagues would like to see even more H-2B and J-1 visas made available to immigrants looking for work here so their hotels and restaurants can operate at full staff during the peak tourism season we’re now experiencing. However, a very important requirement of temporary work programs includes housing, and we simply are in short supply of temporary housing for our seasonal workers. Without valid housing arrangements, temporary workers are not offered visas to travel and work here.

The time is now for our federal delegation to Congress to be more intentional and prioritize the issue of immigration. There are many people abroad who want to work here. And, the truth is, we need them. We must create a path forward if we want to help all industries—including hospitality—find skilled workers. Hospitality is just one area facing workforce challenges. We should be focused on all sectors, and I am encouraged to see the collective efforts of the Delaware Workforce Development Board to expedite training and promote and attract new talent in Delaware. We need our state, local, and business leaders to come together and solve this important need.