Restaurants, caterers, hotels and other businesses in the Milwaukee area are losing $186.5 million in sales this week because of the switch by the Democratic Party to a virtual format for its presidential convention, according to research provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).
Similarly, hospitality businesses in and around Charlotte, N.C., will forgo $289.2 million in bookings because of the Republican Party’s shift away from a traditional convention, the association says.
It cites the situations as “microcosms” of how local businesses are suffering from the recast of “hundred if not thousands” of major conventions as virtual conferences, where participants stay home and interact via computer or phone instead of face to face. “The cancelation of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions is just a small example of the negative impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and hospitality industries,” Chip Rogers, CEO of the AH&LA, said in a statement. “Not only has the dramatic drop in travel impacted the ability of hotels to reopen their doors and rehire employees, it’s also been devastating to local economies.”
The association is been lobbying for a federal aid package aimed specifically at the hotel business. Industry-specific aid packages have also been requested by restaurants, airlines, the agribultural industry and key components of the nation’s food supply chain.
The data cited by the AH&LA was gathered by Oxford Economics.
Tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country have attended past national conventions of the two major political parties. The events are often bonanzas for local caterers as well as restaurants.
The Republican Party had attempted to forgo the need for a virtual conference by switching the location from North Carolina, where local politicians warned of the strain on anti-COVID social-distancing precautions, to Jacksonville, Fla., which initially expressed a willingness to host a live gathering. But that move was checked by the upsurge in new coronavirus infections in Florida.
Not even presumed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris are now expected to visit Milwaukee. Their appearances and speeches will be part of a bevy of online and TV presentations beginning today.
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