During 2020, most U.S. hotel operators limited or eliminated cleaning stayover rooms and serving complimentary breakfast and/or evening cocktail receptions to reduce contact between guests and staff. The major lodging brands accepted these changes to meet local health regulations and provide some expense relief to cash-strapped owners.
Coming out of the 2020 lodging industry recession, hotel owners and operators question the fate of daily housekeeping service and the return of extensive offerings of complimentary food and beverage service. Assuming
health conditions improve and regulations are relaxed, will the brands reinstate these amenities and services?
Per the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, the costs to provide housekeeping and complimentary food and beverage service are recorded in the rooms department, which is the greatest generator of revenue and contributor to profits. According to CBRE’s annual Trends in the Hotel Industry survey of operating statements, rooms revenue represented 69.9 percent of total revenue in 2019, while the rooms
department profits comprised 81.9 percent of total departmental profits. These ratios increased in 2020 as hotel restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, and spas were shut down.
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