The long-term effects of the recent 16-day government shutdown are still uncertain, but Washington, D.C., hotels experienced some dramatic hits in revenue while the federal government was out of work.
According to this article from the Washington Post, hotels in the D.C. area experienced a loss of $2 million in revenue. Hotels also reported 13,000 fewer bookings and occupancy rates fell 12.1 percent during the event.
Elliott Ferguson, president and chief executive of Destination D.C., the District’s marketing office said: “Government business is extremely important for hotels in the area. Not having that business during the government shutdown has unfortunately hurt a lot of hotels.”
During the shutdown, it’s expected that hotels nationwide lost approximately $8 million a day. The hotel and travel industries were extremely vocal about getting the government reopened, and stressed the negative impact it was having on tourism in the country.
More over at The Washington Post.
