NATIONAL REPORT—With most of the industry refusing to publicly take a firm stance on President Trump’s “travel ban,” uncertainty among industry experts continues. While there have been some outspoken opponents of the leader’s executive order, others have been cautiously waiting to pounce on a competitor’s miscalculation.
A week ago, President Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning travel to the U.S. for citizens of seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
Despite its initial hesitancy, Choice Hotels disseminated one of the more direct responses to Trump’s executive order by recognizing in a statement the need for “the administration to find a balanced approach that promotes travel.” Headquartered in Rockville, MD, the lodging company continued its comments by outlining some specifics: “We ask the administration to welcome international visitors and immigrants who travel to our country to enjoy our sights and landmarks, conduct business, visit family, and to live and work, while providing appropriate travel security solutions that protect all Americans.”
The global hospitality company took it a step further by “waiving all cancellation fees for travelers who are from the regions impacted by the recent executive order.”
At press time, Marriott hadn’t released a statement on the president’s temporary travel ban. Arne Sorenson, the hospitality company’s CEO, yesterday, however, did provide his input to Boston Business Journal when questioned about Trump’s comments regarding Mexico and NAFTA causing any kind of trade disruption. He noted that looking at the volume of travel associated with those seven countries, the executive order isn’t going to impact the industry too much, especially if the ban doesn’t last long; however, if the U.S. begins banning more countries, or if other countries begin responding with travel bans of their own, the economy broadly could suffer.
Hilton isn’t offering any comment; and neither Four Seasons or Trump Hotels has responded to Hotel Business’ request for comment.
REITs
REITs have also held opinions back. Condor Hospitality Trust has not yet responded to Hotel Business’ request for comment. Chatham Lodging Trust had no comment at the time of this publication’s exchange with the REIT. Carey Watermark could not provide predictive commentary due to it being in offering mode. Apple Hospitality REIT declined to comment.
LOBBYING GROUPS
In addition to the majority of the industry remaining silent on the issue, the AHLA issued somewhat of a non-confrontational statement—attributed to Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of the association—in response to the president’s controversial order:
“The AHLA has long recognized the critical importance of finding the right balance between unwavering hospitality and strong national security. While we recognize the importance of reviewing the processes surrounding visa issuance as a means to enhance national security, any action must also be balanced. It is our hope that the administration’s review will be completed quickly, so that we can work together to develop policies that both promote hospitality and travel to the United States for those who wish to come—both as employees and as guests—while ensuring the safety of our citizens here at home. We look forwarding to working with the administration, Congress and the broader U.S. travel community to meet that goal.”
The AHLA wouldn’t clarify the language in its statement any further. It also didn’t provide comment on whether members should contact the association directly on the matter.
AAHOA’s executives were unavailable to comment.
OTAs
OTAs haven’t been shy about having their voices heard. Both Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and TripAdvisor co-founder and CEO Stephen Kaufer have publicly condemned President Trump’s executive order. The former even filed a declaration in support of a lawsuit against the president’s travel ban, telling The New York Times: “The State of Washington let us know on Sunday that the suit was something they were considering and asked for our support. We are generally not aggressive against issues that do not relate to our company, but this is travel, our soul and spirit, and we felt we had to respond. Honestly, it was not a debate whether we should be involved.”
AIRBNB
Concurring with the opinion of top-level OTA executives, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted last week that the online marketplace and homestay network is providing free housing for those affected by travel restrictions resulting from the president’s actions. His tweet prior to the announcement: “Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected.”
RESEARCH
Survey results published by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) this week revealed that 31% of travel professionals expect the president’s executive order to cause a reduction in their company’s business travel in the upcoming months. Additionally, the survey found that 50% of travel professionals strongly or somewhat oppose the ban, while nearly 38% strongly or somewhat support it. The GBTA polled its U.S. members on the topic this past week.
Financial services firm Robert W. Baird & Co. on Monday reported that hotel stocks were significantly underperforming (the brands less so than the REITs).
During a webinar hosted by Tambourine and CBRE on trends and threats affecting properties in the U.S., Mark Woodworth, senior managing director of the research firm, acknowledged that CBRE hasn’t formed an opinion on how the temporary travel ban will play out.
Douglas Quinby, VP of research at Phocuswright, a global travel market research company did, however, provide Hotel Business with an analysis, pointing out how the “Middle East overall represents a very small piece of inbound volume for the U.S., and, again, those seven countries account for a negligible portion.” He also noted that the “direct immediate impact is immaterial” in the grand scheme of things for the U.S. hotel industry and travel in general. To him, the bigger questions revolve around reputational impact and “moral questions that have so riled the travel industry and the implied discrimination.”
He continued: “It is too soon to tell if this will have a larger ‘reputational’ impact. We did a post-election survey of European travelers in November and found that a third of German travelers and a fifth of U.K. and French travelers were less likely to visit the U.S. Will the administration’s latest actions add to that sentiment? It’s certainly plausible. But this will still be tough to quantify because inbound numbers have already been soft due to high dollar. Currency will still have a bigger impact, and people will still travel to the U.S. for business—and to see Disney World.”