LOS ANGELES— The hotel industry will likely be at odds with itself Sept. 25 as some of its top leaders meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans while others stay away from the meeting called to discuss possible government relief for an industry hit hard by the current travel crisis, said a Reuters report. After the airlines, hotels have been one of the industries hardest hit by the plunge in travel following the Sept. 11 air attacks in Washington and New York. Responding to a situation that may not return to normal for as long as six months, according to industry estimates, most hotels have slashed spending and staff in the last two weeks as occupancy rates fell as low as 20% at some properties. The list of executives set to attend the Tuesday meeting in Washington includes chief executives of Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., two of the nations top three hotel operators. Noticeably absent from the list, however, is Hilton Hotels Corp., whose CEO Stephen Bollenbach will not attend, a company spokesman told Reuters. A specific meeting agenda was not disclosed, but the Commerce Department said in a statement the leaders will “discuss the current state of the travel and tourism industry in the wake of the tragedy of Sept. 11. A series of conference calls over the last three days by hotel company executives have revealed an industry divided on the subject of government assistance, said Reuters. While some leaders have called for state and federal relief, others say the industry is equipped to weather the downturn and should not divert assistance that could be better used elsewhere. Those in favor of assistance point out the federal government recently approved a $15 billion bailout package for the airline industry designed to offset the devastating financial impact of the attacks.
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