A Long and Slow Road to Recovery in New York City’s Hospitality Sector in the Wake of Covid-19

New York City’s hospitality industry was devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, as tourism and business travel halted. In April 2020, the hospitality industry suffered a 71 percent decline in employment across hotels, restaurants, and other food services, compared to pre-pandemic levels. As of July 2021, the hospitality sector remained 35 percent below February 2020 employment levels. The full recovery of the hospitality sector is dependent on local and national tourism trends and a robust return of business and leisure visitors to the city. This report focuses on two key trends – the severity of Covid-19’s impact on the New York City hospitality industry, relative to other sectors and the hospitality sector at the national level, and the significant need for investment and retraining for displaced hospitality workers

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A report by James A. Parrott and Sierra Lewandowski; James A. Parrott is Director of Economic and Fiscal Policies at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. Sierra Lewandowski is a research analyst at the Center and a recent graduate of the public and urban policy program at the Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment.