Illinois hospitality officials hopeful for continued recovery from pandemic restrictions

(The Center Square) – Illinois’ hospitality sector is looking to bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic tracker from Harvard University shows that as of January this year, total small business revenue decreased by nearly 5% compared to 2020 in Illinois with more than 10% fewer small businesses across all sectors in that same timeframe.

Visitor spending declined by 49% in Illinois after the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Illinois’ hospitality sector felt the brunt of that after executive orders to stay home and orders restricting travel, gathering sizes and indoor dining hindered many Illinois businesses. But, two of the state’s hospitality association leaders say business is starting to come back.

Mike Jacobson of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association expects a total rebound in the next few years for an industry that saw its revenue dip by 44% in 2020.

“We are starting to see a nice pickup already. It is just going to continue to accelerate over the next couple of years until we have a full rebound,” Jacobson said. “We are expecting that somewhere around 2025 for that moment to happen.”

The restaurant industry also saw a 49% decrease in revenue in 2020. Sam Toia of the Illinois Restaurant Association said local restaurants have already started to see the bounce back in business.

“The neighborhood restaurants are coming back and they are getting to their gross sales like they were doing before the pandemic,” Toia said. “However, your restaurants that count on tourists and conventioneers, it’s going to be a while.”

Many conventions are starting to come back to Chicago and the rest of the state, which could help those restaurants and hotels that greatly depend on them, Jacobson said. But, attendance isn’t fully restored.

“If you look at the McCormick Place in Chicago, their 2022 event calendar is pretty darn close to meeting the pre-pandemic levels, and there will be a lot of activity at that building,” Jacobson said. “What is still lagging is the amount of attendees to these conventions.”

Many restrictions were put in place by Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the COVID-19 pandemic that hindered the hospitality industry in the state. Both Jacobson and Toia were asked about the state’s handling of the pandemic.

Toia said that he feels that Pritzker felt he was making the right decisions.

“I believe that the governor was listening to the scientists and doctors,” Toia told The Center Square. “I was not in his shoes, I was not hearing everything the doctors were saying to him, but I do believe that the governor felt he was making the right decision.”

Not every restaurant feels the same way. A lawsuit Geneva-based FoxFire tavern filed against the governor’s orders restricting restaurant capacity limits in 2020 is still pending.

Jacobson said there is no correct way to handle a global pandemic.

“There is no playbook for how to handle a pandemic, so I am going to defer comment on what happens next time because I do not even want to think about this happening again,” Jacobson told The Center Square.

Some Republican members of the Illinois General Assembly want to curb the governor’s authority to issue consecutive executive orders. Such legislation has not advanced.

The state’s budget, which passed earlier this month and was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday, contains $75 million for a hotel jobs recovery program and an additional $50 million for a restaurant employment and stabilization grant program.

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