Hotels, Restaurants Beg for State to Allow More Guests
The historic Palmer House Hotel in Chicago has been closed since March of 2020 and isn’t expected to re-open until at least April of this year. The pains being felt at Palmer House are shared by hotels across the state.
Hotel and restaurants around the state want Governor JB Pritzker’s administration to loosen some occupancy restrictions on the struggling industries.
In a virtual Senate committee hearing Thursday, Michael Jacobson, President and CEO at Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association says hotel occupancy was down 84% in Chicago one week last month compared to 2019. He says struggling hotels don’t anticipate a recovery to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.
He says the state won’t even discuss expanded occupancy levels.
“We are so disheartened that the state has had such little appetite to discuss a short and long term strategy related to a gradual re-opening of our hotel operations,” Jacobson said. Even under Phase 4 of the “Restore Illinois” plan, meetings and events are limited to a maximum of 50 people, no matter what. And there are no increases in that number until Phase 5, when conventions and all other gatherings go back to normal. There’s no middle ground.”
Sam Toia, President of the Illinois Restaurant Association, says they need to know what the state will do for re-opening.
“We need to know a strategy, we need to know the metrics moving forward. We cannot lose another summer in the State of Illinois,” Toia said. We want to know when we can go back to having conventions, private parties, some fans in stadiums, it’s very unclear. We need to know what Phase 5 is going to look like. We can’t wait another 12-18 months.”
He says restaurants can serve more people now.
“The single most important factor that will determine the success or failure of restaurants is the number of people they are allowed to serve on a daily basis,” Toia said. “Restaurants know how to serve diners safely and prioritize the health of the guests and team members.”
Jacobson warned without action, the state’s entire hospitality industry could collapse in a few months. He also says hotel workers should be included the state’s higher priority levels for vaccinations.
Meanwhile, a handful of Senate Republicans have sent a letter to Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike asking for more information about how the state will transition to Phase 5 of the Governor’s “Restore Illinois” plan:
According to the Administration’s Restore Illinois plan, for Illinois to enter Phase 5, the following must be met: Either a vaccine must be developed to prevent additional spread of COVID-19, a treatment option is readily available that ensures health care capacity is no longer a concern, or there are no new cases over a sustained period. How do you define “readily available” and can you tell us what constitutes a “sustained period”?
IDPH did not return our message last night.