[Senate Hearing 117-773]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-773

                     INVESTING IN AMERICA'S TOURISM
                       AND HOSPITALITY WORKFORCE
                          AND SMALL BUSINESSES

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                    SUBCOMMITTEE ON TOURISM, TRADE,
                          AND EXPORT PROMOTION

                                 OF THE

                         COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                      SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION
                               __________

                              MAY 25, 2021
                               __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation
                             

                   [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                            


                Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                    
54-132 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2023   


       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION


                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi, Ranking
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia                 Virginia
                                     RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                    David Strickland, Staff Director
                 Melissa Porter, Deputy Staff Director
       George Greenwell, Policy Coordinator and Security Manager
                 John Keast, Republican Staff Director
            Crystal Tully, Republican Deputy Staff Director
                      Steven Wall, General Counsel
                                 ------                                

          SUBCOMMITTEE ON TOURISM, TRADE, AND EXPORT PROMOTION

JACKY ROSEN, Nevada, Chair           RICK SCOTT, Florida, Ranking
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
JON TESTER, Montana                  RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado              Virginia
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming

                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Hearing held on May 25, 2021.....................................     1
Statement of Senator Rosen.......................................     1
Statement of Senator Scott.......................................     3
Statement of Senator Klobuchar...................................    22
Statement of Senator Blackburn...................................    24

                               Witnesses

D. Taylor, International President, UNITE HERE...................     5
    Prepared statement...........................................     6
Bill Lupfer, President and CEO, Florida Attractions Association..     9
    Prepared statement...........................................    11
Shaundell Newsome, Chair, Urban Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas....    12
    Prepared statement...........................................    14
Drew Daly, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cruiseone, 
  Dream Vacations and Cruises Inc................................    15
    Prepared statement...........................................    16

 
                     INVESTING IN AMERICA'S TOURISM
                       AND HOSPITALITY WORKFORCE
                          AND SMALL BUSINESSES

                              ----------                              


                         TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021

                               U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion,   
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:03 p.m., in 
room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Jacky Rosen, 
Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Rosen [presiding], Klobuchar, Scott, and 
Blackburn.

            OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JACKY ROSEN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA

    Senator Rosen. Good afternoon and welcome to today's 
hearing, Investing in America's Tourism and Hospitality 
Workforce and Small Businesses. Today we will examine the state 
of the tourism and hospitality workforce in the wake of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the experiences and challenges of 
the tourism and hospitality related small businesses, and those 
business outside the industry who, nonetheless, depend on 
travel and tourism to bring them customers.
    We will also review regional impacts of the pandemic on 
communities that rely on tourism and hospitality workforce and 
receive insight on how Congress can support workers and small 
businesses, as the travel and tourism industry recovers.
    U.S. hotel and hospitality industry continues to experience 
severe pandemic-related impacts and, consequently, so do the 
workers in that industry. For Nevada, this is almost 25 percent 
of our work force. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, Nevada's job 
market exhibited signs of strength, with a seasonally adjusted 
unemployment rate of about 3 percent. Just over 1 percent 
unemployment rate among workers covered by unemployment 
insurance.
    However, by mid-March 2020, as the world began seeing the 
impacts of the public health crisis, situations started to 
change dramatically. Our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate 
rose to over 6 percent, followed by a steep and unprecedented 
increase to 30 percent in April 2020. The highest unemployment 
rate in the Nation, I may add.
    So, for two weeks in March, initial unemployment claims 
increased, from just over 6,000 to over 92,000 claims. This 
significant rise in unemployment in Nevada, in part, reflects 
our State's reliance on leisure and hospitality employment in 
the State economy.
    Tourism drives most of the demand in the hospitality 
industry, and COVID-19 decimated tourism. At the onset of the 
crisis, Nevada's leisure and hospitality sector was the largest 
contributor to wage and salary employment. In February 2021--
2020, excuse me, the leisure and hospitality sector employed 
over 356,000 workers, in a State with an overall population of 
just a little over three million.
    Taken together, this data suggests that workers in leisure 
and hospitality have probably borne the brunt of unemployment 
in Nevada. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
nationwide, leisure and hospitality lost 2.8 million jobs 
during the pandemic that have yet to return. This represents 
more than 25 percent of all unemployed persons in the United 
States.
    The 99 percent of businesses in Nevada that are small 
businesses have also struggled, particularly minority-owned 
small businesses who are far too often disproportionately 
impacted economic slowdowns and left behind in economic 
recoveries. I have made support for workers in small businesses 
one of my top priorities during the pandemic. And I call on my 
colleagues here today to not lose sight of the fact that this 
has been an uneven recovery, one in which small businesses and 
workers, in the hardest hit states, and will continue to need 
our help until we are fully past the pandemic.
    We will build back better. But it is going to take time and 
it is going to take investment. While many industries in Nevada 
are starting to come back, statewide, the leisure and 
hospitality industry is only at 70 percent of its pre-COVID 
peak employment levels. That is down more than 106,000 jobs.
    The strong and robust presence of organized labor in Nevada 
directly aids the recovery for workers. Compared to other 
states in the Mountain West, Nevada has maintained a relatively 
higher rate of unionization in recent years, according to the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2019, more than 14 percent of 
employed workers in Nevada belong to unions, which is an 
increase of 2.5 percentage points over 2016 levels. And it is 
much higher than the nationwide figure of just over 10 percent.
    Unions in Nevada helped to improve quality of employment 
relationships and working conditions. You know, as a college 
student coming home for the summer, I was a member of Nevada's 
Culinary Workers' Union, Local 226, when I waited tables at 
Caesar's Palace. And I am grateful for that job that helped me 
pay for my college tuition. And you know, the Culinary Workers' 
Union is the largest private-sector union in Nevada. It 
represents approximately 60,000 workers and organizes them in 
casino and hotel properties on the Las Vegas strip and 
downtown--represents housekeepers, bartenders, bellmen, and 
many others.
    The Culinary Workers' Union has been a lifeline for the 
hospitality workforce in Nevada. And in fact, the very last in 
person meeting I took in Capitol Hill, before we closed our 
offices in March due to the pandemic, was with Mr. D. Taylor, 
President of UNITE HERE, the union with which Nevada's Culinary 
226 is proudly affiliated. So, I am pleased to have him here 
today testifying as an expert witness.
    Mr. Taylor and UNITE HERE have gone above and beyond during 
the pandemic, to support the workers they represent, even 
running their own food bank when the local economy was in the 
most dire situation. In the early months of the pandemic, when 
98 percent of the more than 300,000 UNITE HERE workers were out 
of work, Mr. Taylor and the union stood by their members. And I 
look forward to his testimony here today, about how we get 
tourism and hospitality moving again.
    Also, testifying virtually today, to share their expertise, 
insight, and recommendations, we have Nevada's own Shaundell 
Newsome, Chair of the Las Vegas Urban Chamber of Commerce, 
which works to provide access to local, national, and global 
markets for small and diverse businesses in Southern Nevada.
    In addition, we are pleased to have representatives with us 
from the following organizations, of course, virtually. The 
Florida Attractions Association which promotes and advances the 
interest of businesses in the attraction industry, and World 
Travel Holdings, a leisure company.
    It is my hope that today's hearing will help us better 
understand the challenges the small businesses and the 
hospitality work force--the challenges that they face, as a 
result of depressed business and leisure travel caused by the 
pandemic. And that today's hearing will provide a forum for an 
engaging discussion on how to support workers and small 
businesses, as they recover.
    Thank you all again for being here today. I look forward to 
hearing each of you share your experiences and expertise. And 
now, I am going to turn it over to Ranking Member Scott for his 
opening statement, and then, we will introduce our witnesses. 
Senator Scott.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. RICK SCOTT, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA

    Senator Scott. Yes, I want to thank Chair Rosen for hosting 
this hearing today. I want to thank all the witnesses for being 
with us and sharing your perspectives.
    There is a lot that the State of Nevada, especially Las 
Vegas, has in common with the State of Florida. We are very 
much dependent on our tourism industry and I know we have four 
wonderful witnesses today that are going to talk about the 
impact that it has had on our small businesses. I want to thank 
Bill Lupfer and Drew Daly for testifying today and sharing 
their insights from Florida's small businesses and their 
employees.
    Florida, like Las Vegas, is a global travel destination. 
People from all over the world come to enjoy our beaches, our 
attractions, and all our state has to offer. When I was 
Governor, we worked hard to grow our tourism industry. And we 
actually were able to grow it from about 80 million tourists a 
year, by the time I left to 126 million tourists. A record each 
of those years.
    I know this pandemic has impacted each of us differently 
and all of our small businesses differently. We have had to 
adapt to make sure our families, our businesses, and our 
employees stay safe. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has 
severely hurt Florida's travel and tourism industries, which 
comes with a chain of economic impacts on our restaurants, our 
small businesses, and our families. And I know Chair Rosen has 
seen the same thing in Las Vegas and Nevada.
    I am glad to see that Florida is open for business again. 
But in order for our State and our Nation to fully reopen and 
get our economy back on track, we have to continue to work 
together. I have been hearing from many of our small businesses 
in Florida, they are struggling to find workers to fill their 
open jobs because they are competing with enhanced Federal 
unemployment benefits. I have supported targeted aid for 
struggling families and businesses, but I have been clear that 
the Federal Government should not be paying Americans more to 
stay home than go back to work.
    I am glad to see Governors across the Nation are taking 
action to get their citizens back to work. I am also on a bill 
with several of my colleagues to phaseout this disincentive to 
work. While I will always work to support our small businesses, 
get Americans back to work, and get our economy fully open. But 
we also always have to make sure we help those that still need 
our help.
    I have also been very focused on getting the safe 
resumption of our cruise line operations. Something that, 
hopefully, a lot of people from Las Vegas enjoy, but we do not 
see many cruises from Las Vegas. So, many of our businesses and 
workers that rely on the cruise industry have been left at a 
standstill for over a year now, waiting for the CDC guidance, 
while so many industries have reopened. You can go to a 
restaurant. You can go to an amusement park. You can go stay in 
a hotel. But the CDC has made it very difficult for our cruise 
industry to get started again.
    I am glad the CDC has finally answered my call and the call 
of many of my colleagues, to get things moving in the right 
direction, so our cruise industry can get back to work. But the 
CDC, unfortunately, has treated our cruise industry terribly 
over the past year. And I am going to continue my fight and 
work with the CDC to make sure we reach a quick and equitable 
solution that keeps people safe that want to cruise, the 
employees safe, but also protects the jobs in Florida. And I 
know there are jobs in Las Vegas tied to the cruise industry, 
and all across our Nation.
    As our Nation works to recovers from the coronavirus and 
get our economy back on track, I remain committed to doing 
everything I can to support our travel industry in Florida, and 
across the United States.
    I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses. I want 
to thank--again, thank Chair Rosen for organizing this hearing 
and inviting the witnesses she has invited. And all of us want 
to understand how the COVID-19 has impacted our industries and 
how we can help them succeed. So, thank you. Thanks again, 
Chair Rosen.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you. And you can cruise on Lake Tahoe 
and Lake Mead.
    Senator Scott. That is right.
    Senator Rosen. It is not the same as a Caribbean cruise 
but----
    Senator Scott. Actually, it is fun.
    Senator Rosen.--you can have a nice dinner cruise on both 
of those. So, thank you, Senator Scott.
    I would like to introduce our first witness, who is 
testifying with us remotely today, D. Taylor. He is the 
International President of UNITE HERE. With over 40 years in 
the labor--experience in the labor movement, Mr. Taylor has 
successfully organized labor negotiations throughout the 
country, and has helped grow the culinary union in Nevada to 
its current membership level of nearly--approximately 60,000 
members.
    Nationally, UNITE HERE currently represents over 300,000 
active union members who work in various roles in the 
hospitality industry--hotels, food service, laundry, 
warehouses, and casinos. Mr. Taylor, you are now recognized for 
your opening remarks.

  STATEMENT OF D. TAYLOR, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, UNITE HERE

    Mr. Taylor. First, I want to thank you, Senator Rosen and 
Senator Scott. It is a real honor and privilege to actually 
speak in front of you all. Hopefully, this will be the last 
remote hearing that I have to be involved with, because I am 
sure, like everybody else, we are really tired of Zoom.
    So, we represent over 300,000 members, throughout the 
United States and Canada. At the beginning of the pandemic, 98 
percent of our workers were laid off and, even today, 50 to 60 
percent are still not working.
    First, in the gaming industry, employment has increased 
more in the gaming industry, but still it is far behind in what 
it was before the pandemic. In Atlantic City, we have about 75 
percent of our members back. In Ohio about 75, Detroit about 
65, Mississippi about 65, Las Vegas a little over 50 percent, 
and New Orleans 32 percent. And some of the reasons why our 
workers are not back is because casinos have moved to eliminate 
a fair amount of food and beverage jobs and also, changes in 
housekeeping.
    In food service, the employment there, for example, airline 
catering. We have about 70 percent of our workers back, but 
that has really been paid through the CARES Act funding. In 
traditional cafeterias, only about 55 percent. In airport 
concessions, when people come through, only about 45 percent. 
And in stadiums and arenas, less than 40 percent and big 
convention centers, 5 percent or less. And there is real 
concern there about when those jobs will come back because that 
involves both large and small employers.
    And in hotel employment, there is really a bifurcation in 
those--some of those leisure markets like Florida, Arizona, and 
Hawaii. We are starting to return back to pre-COVID levels, but 
not where it was. But in those markets that have been heavily 
relying on business, groups, international travel, those 
numbers are so far below what it was before the pandemic, it 
has affected the abilities of people to come back to work.
    Now, we have a concern, too, in the last two downturns, 
after 9/11 and the Great Recession, some of those temporary job 
reductions became permanent. And in fact, between 2001 and 
2019, hotel industry employment, by room count, decreased by 20 
percent. And we have issues, which we have found to be 
perplexing.
    In many cases, we have heard about the inability to get 
people to come back to work, and at the same time, I think some 
of that has been caused by the inability of companies to say, 
you have the right to be recalled. And as we all know, older 
workers that are terminated, 1 in 10 earn much less than what 
they earned previously. And so, on one hand, we have a cry for 
workers and the other hand, just the basic idea of somebody has 
been with the company 20 or 30 years has to start off as a new 
hire somewhere. You can understand that quandary. And in fact, 
here in Las Vegas we had that problem where Station Casinos 
fired 7,000 workers. So, they have to start all over again, 
even if you have been with the company 20 or 30 years.
    Subcontracting, United Airlines got an enormous amount of 
money from the payroll support program, $7.7 billion, actually, 
from the government. And now they are looking to subcontract 
out all their kitchens, with no guarantee of work or benefits.
    And service cuts, many hotel owners have been extremely 
aggressive about this. Like, for example, to end daily room 
cleaning. And so, for example, the CEO of Park Hotels, the 
biggest private sector of owners--owner of Hiltons, have said 
they want to have a permanent reduction of full-time, hotel 
level staffing.
    So, on one hand, we have companies that have really done 
the right thing and I want to point out one from Florida and 
one from Nevada. In Florida, Disney, for example, has done 
tremendous work. They extended health care benefits for all 
their employees, throughout this pandemic and loaded up all the 
unemployed people into the Florida system which, as everybody 
knows, had some serious issues. And in Nevada, the Wynn Resorts 
stepped up completely on continuing to pay people and also, 
extend benefits.
    So, we are worried about the future and, at the same time, 
we think there is a lot that needs to be done to get back on 
our feet, both with companies and workers.
    Thank you so much, Senator Rosen and Scott.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Taylor follows:]

  Prepared Statement of D. Taylor, International President, UNITE HERE
    Chairwoman Rosen, Ranking Member Scott, and Members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify today.
    UNITE HERE represents over 300,000 workers in hospitality, 
including hotels, gaming, food service, airports, and more. Our members 
are overwhelmingly women and people of color, and they were among the 
hardest hit by the COVID-19 virus itself and by job loss and everything 
that comes with it--trying to make rent, put food on the table, and get 
health care for their families. Ninety-eight percent of our members 
were laid off at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 70 percent 
remain out of work today.
    Current employment levels in hospitality vary widely by sector and 
region.
    Nationally we estimate that 70 percent of UNITE HERE airline 
catering workers have returned to work or are being paid through CARES 
Act funding. Employment levels for our members are around 55 percent in 
traditional cafeterias (including corporate, higher education, 
manufacturing, and tech cafeterias), 45 percent in airport concessions, 
40 percent in stadiums and arenas, and 5 percent or less in convention 
centers. A key concern in food service is that we do not yet know how 
corporate cafeteria workers will be affected if major companies such as 
Facebook allow employees to continue working from home after the 
pandemic restrictions end. We estimate that this could result in 
permanent job loss for 3,000 to 5,000 of our members.
    In gaming, employment is approaching pre-COVID levels for our 
members in some regional markets. Seventy-five percent of our members 
in gaming are back to work in Atlantic City and Ohio, 65 percent are 
back in Detroit and Mississippi, and just under 60 percent are back in 
Southern Indiana. Employment is lagging in destination markets that 
depend on group business and air travel. Only 50 percent of our members 
in gaming have returned to work in Las Vegas, and just 32 percent are 
back in New Orleans.
    Hotel employment varies widely by region. Hotels in some leisure 
markets like Florida and Hawaii have returned to pre-COVID occupancy 
levels, while occupancy remains lower in markets focused on business, 
group, and international travel.
    Some have suggested that Americans who are laid-off and on 
unemployment just don't want to return to work. In fact, employers in 
the hospitality industry are trying to reduce staffing, and the way to 
help get Americans back to work is not by slashing the safety net but 
by holding hospitality companies accountable to bring jobs back.
    Americans are smart. They want a steady income, but they need 
childcare, they want to be safe, and they want a job that's worth it.
    Workers with kids--especially women--may not have access to in-
person schooling or childcare where they trust that it's safe. Many 
workers are still waiting to be two weeks past their second dose, so 
they're not fully vaccinated yet. And finally, a lot of folks felt 
burned by sudden layoffs and termination of benefits at the beginning 
of the pandemic, so some have left for industries that they perceive to 
be more stable.
    Frankly, if you're an employer worried that people make too much on 
unemployment, that probably means that you've been getting away with 
poverty jobs and now the chicken has come home to roost. You've got to 
ask, are you paying enough and offering the kind of benefits that make 
a job worth taking? Our union has won hospitality jobs that are worth 
it, and where that's the case, people are ready and waiting to get 
called back.
    The real question is--are those good jobs going to be there? Some 
hospitality employers are using this crisis to try to make jobs worse 
or to eliminate them altogether. Business is returning, but the 
hospitality industry is leaving workers out of the comeback in three 
ways:
    First is denying workers what we call ``recall rights.'' In most 
cases, unless you have a union contract, there's nothing that requires 
your employer to bring you back when the business returns. Workers who 
are terminated and replaced rather than ``recalled'' make on average 
11.8 percent less in wages when they get a new job. Of older workers 
who are laid off involuntarily, only 1 in 10 will ever earn as much 
again.
    Look at Station Casinos, which fired 7,000 of its employees. 
Longtime Station Casinos workers have lost their jobs as a result of 
the COVID-19 pandemic due to no fault of their own, and they should get 
their jobs back when their businesses reopen or resume operations. But 
Station Casinos has opposed Senate Bill 386, a proposal in Nevada's 
state legislature that would assure worker's Right to Return.
    Another example is the food service company HMSHost, which 
furloughed over 9,000 employees in March 2020. In some places HMSHost 
has refused to provide assurances that it will bring back workers as 
air traffic returns, and in at least one case it moved to replace 
longtime workers with new hires. Without ``recall rights'' a company 
can throw you out like an old pair of shoes. We can't let that happen.
    Second is subcontracting. Companies can save money by switching to 
contractors with lower wages, few or no benefits, and no union. Look at 
United. United got $7.7 billion from the Payroll Support Program, which 
was designed to keep workers in their jobs so the industry could 
rebound faster. The PSP has restrictions on job eliminations, but 
there's a loophole: the restrictions are going to expire in the fall, 
and United has already solicited bids from contractors to outsource its 
catering kitchens when the PSP restriction ends. These are industrial 
kitchens where workers prepare the food and beverage that's served in 
flight, and that's 2,500 jobs in Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, 
and Newark. United has refused to promise longtime workers that they 
will be able to get a job with any contractor that starts doing the 
work, or maintain their pay and benefits. We're asking Treasury to stop 
United from exploiting that loophole. Subcontracting threatens good 
jobs.
    Third is service cuts. Some hotel owners are pushing operators to 
make permanent cuts to the services they offer guests, which means that 
those hotels will need less workers even when they get back to peak 
occupancy.
    In November of 2020, Thomas Baltimore, the CEO of Park Hotels, 
which is the biggest private sector owner of Hilton hotels, said that 
Park Hotels would pursue ``permanent reduction of fulltime, hotel level 
staffing.'' In May of 2020, Host CEO Jim Risoleo said, ``We view . . . 
this crisis truly as an opportunity to redefine the hotel operating 
model,'' explaining in November 2020, ``We won't have the incremental 
cost associated with housekeeping.'' Host is the largest private sector 
owner of Marriott hotels.
    This is part of a pattern. After each of the two most recent crises 
in tourism, 9/11 and the Great Recession, hotels slashed jobs. Many 
workers were never brought back, and from 2001 to 2019 the hotel 
industry ultimately cut employment levels, measured by the number of 
employees per hotel room, by 20 percent.
    This time around, some hotel owners are pursuing so-called labor 
``efficiencies'' through reduced cleaning services in housekeeping, 
reduced food and beverage amenities, and other permanent cuts to guest 
services. We estimate that the end of daily room cleaning alone would 
result in the elimination of up to 180,000 U.S. jobs. In gaming, some 
casinos are moving to eliminate jobs in food and beverage, such as by 
replacing buffets with fast food.
    Honestly when you think about a hotel with no daily room cleaning, 
where the F&B is just grab-and-go, that's almost like a college dorm 
experience. That's bad for customers, but it's also bad for workers and 
communities because housekeepers, cooks, servers--that's the backbone 
of the service economy. Taking away those jobs would mean some people 
will never recover.
    UNITE HERE members just want to provide for their families, but 
we're seeing employers use the pandemic to eviscerate the jobs of women 
and people of color. That's the real threat to our economic recovery.
    When we talk about getting folks back to work, the way you do that 
is not by taking unemployment benefits away like some states are doing. 
That just punishes Americans who've been struggling for 14 months 
already. Public officials must instead hold hospitality companies 
accountable and fight against a jobless recovery by making Federal 
assistance conditional on recipients rehiring their long-time workers 
with good wages and benefits.
    UNITE HERE members are fighting to defend our jobs, and that's 
where workers need your leadership and your support. Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
     Appendix A: Supplementary Statements from Hospitality Workers
1. Barbie Tivas: Station Casinos, Las Vegas, NV
    My name is Barbie Lee Tivas and I have worked at Green Valley Ranch 
Resort Spa and Casino as a banquet server for 13 years. I have invested 
time, blood, sweat, and tears during my 13 years with Station Casinos. 
My work helped to further their profits in the good and bad times. I 
don't want to be abandoned when their businesses recover.
    Over the past 7 months, I have had to squeeze my finances and just 
pay for the bare minimum like groceries, gas, and utilities. I was also 
able to get a forbearance on my mortgage, thank God, which has really 
helped my family. I am 54 years old and I do not want to lose my job at 
this age after so many years of working hard. I'm proud of the work I 
do and I help my company to be successful. Every single one of my 
coworkers and I should have the opportunity to return back to work when 
the economy recovers. I have hope that things will be normal again, and 
when they are, I don't want to be left behind.
2. Fernando Herrera: United Catering, Houston, TX
    My name is Fernando Herrera, and I have been a transportation 
driver at United Airlines catering for 20 years. I was shocked to hear 
that United is planning on subcontracting out the kitchen--United has 
not really informed us about anything. Right now, we don't know what to 
do or how to prepare.
    It is an injustice. It's not fair that United even after getting 
the money from the government, is considering laying people off. That's 
all me and my coworkers think about. I am the sole provider for my wife 
and son, so this news affects my whole family. I don't know what my 
family and I will do or if I'll be able to find work after 20 years at 
the same job.
    I'm scared most about losing my healthcare. I had a heart attack in 
2016 and had to be out of work for four months after my surgery. My 
healthcare is really important to me to be able to stay healthy, and I 
fear what will happen if in a few months, I lose my job and my health 
insurance.
3. Judith Ramirez: Marriott, Honolulu, HI
    My name is Judith Ramirez, and I've worked at the Sheraton Waikiki 
in Honolulu, HI for three years. It's scary to think that Marriott 
might not call me back to work if there is no more daily room cleaning. 
If there are fewer rooms to clean, there will be fewer jobs for 
housekeepers.
    Losing my job wouldn't hurt only me, it would hurt my whole family. 
I have two young children to feed. Without my job, I can't afford to 
put food on the table, pay the mortgage, or help my family in the 
Philippines. The housekeepers in my hotel are almost all women of 
color, and most of the other jobs we have found have lower wages and 
unaffordable health care. Housekeepers have fought hard to make our 
jobs better, and we don't want to lose them.

    Senator Rosen. The microphone--Thank you, Mr. Taylor for 
your insights into the hospitality workforce and into our 
States and important cities.
    And so now, I would like to turn it over to Senator Scott 
to introduce our next witness. Senator Scott.
    Senator Scott CEO of Florida Attractions. He represents 
over 120 theme parks and tourist attractions in Florida. He 
is--I had the pleasure to work with Bill when I was Governor. 
He and a lot of others, they bring a lot of visitors to our 
state. So, welcome, Bill. I look forward to hearing from you.

     STATEMENT OF BILL LUPFER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FLORIDA 
                    ATTRACTIONS ASSOCIATION

    Mr. Lupfer. Thank you, Senator. Good afternoon Chairwoman 
Rosen and Ranking Member Scott, and members of the 
Subcommittee. I want to thank you for your leadership in 
addressing the pandemic's devastating economic damage, 
specifically to the Nation's hardest hit sector, travel and 
tourism. I am honored to participate in this hearing on 
Investigating America's Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and 
Small Business.
    Founded in 1949, the Florida Attractions Association, or 
the other FAA, is Florida's trade association representing the 
tourist attraction industry. Florida's heritage as a 
vacationland has evolved through the decades. As our state's 
natural wonders continue to attract visitors from around the 
world, our state's manmade attractions have evolved from 
kitschy roadside attractions to now include the world's most 
popular theme park destinations.
    Today, the FAA is comprised of 250 member businesses. The 
state's largest attractions are members, however, most of our 
members are small businesses. Only 10 percent of our members 
are publicly traded companies. Many of our members represent 
3rd and 4th generation owner/operators of their family's 
attractions. And forty percent of our members have an annual 
paid attendance of under 100,000 guests.
    Florida's non-essential businesses, including our 
attractions, closed around March 15 of last year. During this 
time, the actions of Congress to provide support and relief to 
small business was a great help. The CARES Act, the Paycheck 
Protection Program, and SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans 
were the bridge needed to maintain an employee base and cover 
ongoing expenses through the closure.
    Governor DeSantis began the process of reopening Florida's 
businesses and a pathway to reopen Florida's tourism economy, 
including attractions, by an Executive Order on May 18, 2020. 
The Florida Attractions Association worked with our members and 
their respective county governments to define best practices in 
a tourist attraction environment to provide protection for 
guests and employees from viral transmission. The objective was 
clear and the goal unmistakable--eopening safe, smart and step-
by-step.
    As the industry began to reopen, there was initially a 
trepid response from travelers needing assurance that their 
safety was paramount to our industry. As the summer of 2020 
progressed, Florida experienced a staycation season as 
Floridians travelled to other Florida destinations, often 
within a day's drive of their homes. Outdoor facilities were 
particularly popular, as National Parks, State Parks and 
outdoor attractions, such as zoos and gardens, had the benefit 
of providing guests fresh air and sunshine.
    Over the last year, the general pattern has developed, as 
the public's trust in travel returns, confidence in safety 
protocols proven, and the desire to get out and go inspired 
Americans to travel once again. Florida has seen an increasing 
return of the domestic traveler, and while it is not at pre-
COVID levels, it is encouraging to see attractions, hotels, 
campgrounds, and restaurants begin to experience recovery. Our 
state's tourism marketing office, Visit Florida, reported a 14 
percent decline in travel in Florida in the first quarter of 
2021, compared to 2020.
    What we need, number one, clear policy coordination between 
agencies such as the CDC, Department of Transportation, OSHA, 
and other public-facing agencies with timely guidance on 
defeating the pandemic. Recent changes in the CDC's guidance 
were a welcome development to our members. However, the 
swiftness of the changes left many businesses scrambling to 
interpret the new guidance and assess the impact on their 
businesses. Even today, guidance from the CDC, Department of 
Transportation and OSHA could be viewed as being conflicting.
    Number two, Florida and much of the Nation is experiencing 
a labor shortage and it is acute in Florida's hospitality 
industry. We know that many of our members are experiencing 
this, in part, because of the continued payment of state 
unemployment insurance benefits and Federal unemployment relief 
programs. Governor DeSantis has directed the state to 
discontinue waiving the work search requirement at the end of 
this month. And Florida will stop--will step out of the 
Florida--of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation 
program at the end of next month.
    Entry level labor shortages are not new. In 19--by 2029, 
only 28 percent of teens will participate in the U.S. labor 
force, down 43 percent from 1978. The shortage is driving up 
wages, supply and demand, business must adapt as they compete 
for talent. But one amusement park has discovered that even 
wages are not the answer, this year offering a 100 percent 
increase, from $10 to $20 per hour, and still having to reduce 
operating hours and close due to labor shortages.
    And number three, as discussed in your last hearing, the 
cruise industry, an industry I have no direct, professional 
role in, is still waiting for clear guidance from the CDC. The 
cruise industry and the attraction industry are fierce 
competitors, but we need each other to achieve our individual 
and collective business objectives.
    Addressing these issues, along with your support of Brand 
USA, will help us move our tourism economy forward, prepared 
for a post-pandemic success. Thank you for your leadership in 
supporting America's hospitality workers and small business. I 
look forward to working with you and answering your questions. 
Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Lupfer follows:]

         Prepared Statement of Bill Lupfer, President and CEO, 
                    Florida Attractions Association
    Good afternoon Chairwoman Rosen, Ranking Member Scott, members of 
the Subcommittee. I thank you for your leadership in addressing the 
pandemic's devastating economic damage, specifically to our Nation's 
hardest hit sector, travel and tourism. I'm honored to participate in 
this hearing on Investing in America's Tourism and Hospitality 
Workforce and Small Businesses.
About the Florida Attractions Association
    Founded in 1949, the Florida Attractions Association, or ``the 
other FAA'' is Florida's trade association representing the tourist 
attractions industry. Florida's heritage as a vacationland has evolved 
through the decades. As our state's natural wonders continue to attract 
visitors from around the world, our state's manmade attractions have 
evolved from kitschy roadside attractions to now include the world's 
most popular theme park destinations.
    Today, the FAA is comprised of 250 member businesses. The state's 
largest attractions, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, 
SeaWorld Parks and Merlin Entertainments are members; however, most of 
our members are small businesses. Only 10 percent of our members are 
publicly traded companies. Many of our members represent 3rd and 4th 
generation owner/operators of their family's attractions. Forty percent 
of our members have an annual paid attendance of under 100,000 guests.
    The Florida Attractions Association links the passion and 
creativity of Florida's attractions industry. We provide leadership 
training and professional development, advocacy, networking and 
communication channels as we promote and protect the interests of the 
Florida Attractions industry and connect our Attraction members to each 
other and industry thought leaders.
Florida Attraction Association's Pandemic Response
    Florida's non-essential businesses, including our attractions, 
closed around March 15, 2020. The uncertainty of the virus, its methods 
of transmission, and consequences to vulnerable populations were 
unknown. As we moved from ``15 days to slow the spread'' to 30 days to 
``flatten the curve'' we collected the best information available to 
share with our members.
    In April 2020, the Florida Attractions Association published for 
its members a Guide for Reopening Florida Attractions. Creating 
reopening protocols for our industry was a challenge. As most business 
types share similarities in their operation--hotels, restaurants, 
campground, retail stores, for example, each attraction is unique. 
Consider these types among our members--Adventure Parks, Agritourism, 
Airboat Ride, Alligator Farms, Amusement Parks, Aquariums, 
Archaeological Park, Boat Cruises, Canoes, Kayak, Cycling Rentals, 
Destination Resorts, Dinner Theaters, Drive-through Safaris/Animal 
Parks, Family Entertainment Centers, Farms, Gardens, Go-Karts, Karting, 
Historic Sites/Homes/Lighthouses, Iconic Wheel, Indoor Flying, Marine 
Parks, Off-road adventure courses, Open-air trains and trolleys, 
Science Centers, Space Center, Springs, Swamp Buggy Rides, Theme Parks, 
Trampoline Parks, Waterparks, Zip Lines, and Zoos.
    In a tourism economy and an attraction environment, these protocols 
require unique approach to ensure the safety of our guests and 
employees.
    During this time, the actions of Congress to provide support and 
relief to small businesses was a great help. The Paycheck Protection 
Programs and SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans were the bridge 
needed to maintain an employee base and cover ongoing expenses through 
the closure.
    Governor DeSantis began the process of reopening Florida's 
businesses and a pathway to reopen Florida's tourism economy, including 
attractions, by an Executive Order on May 18, 2020.
    The Florida Attractions Association worked with our members and 
their respective county governments to define best practices in a 
tourist attraction environment to provide protection for guests and 
employees from viral transmission. The objective was clear and the goal 
unmistakable--reopening safe, smart and step-by-step.
Reopening Florida Attractions
    As the industry began to reopen, there was initially a tepid 
response as travelers needed assurance that their safety was paramount 
to our industry. As the summer of 2020 progressed, Florida experienced 
a ``staycation'' season as Floridians travelled to other Florida 
destinations, often within a day's drive from their homes.
    Outdoor facilities were particularly popular, as National Parks, 
State Parks and outdoor attractions such as zoos and gardens had the 
benefit of providing guests fresh air and sunshine.
    Over the last year, a general pattern has developed, as the 
public's trust in travel returns, confidence in safety protocols 
proven, and the desire to ``get out and go'' inspired Americans to 
travel once again. Florida has seen an increasing return of the 
domestic traveler, and while it's not at a pre-COVID levels, it is 
encouraging to see attractions, hotels, campgrounds and restaurants 
begin to experience recovery. Our state's tourism marketing office 
reported a 14 percent decline in travel to Florida in the first quarter 
of 2021 compared to 2020.
    Ultimately, the full recovery will be realized with the return of 
two market segments. First, the international traveler. In your hearing 
last Tuesday, you heard expert testimony from three industry 
professionals. It was clear this subcommittee recognizes the unique 
characteristics of the international traveler. Emergency funding of 
Brand USA to stimulate international travel will reap broad benefits 
for America's economy. Second, the return of the business traveler. The 
Meetings and Convention industry has been severely impacted, but we are 
now seeing a slow return of that market segment.
What We Need
   Clear policy coordination between agencies such as the CDC, 
        Department of Transportation, OSHA and other public-facing 
        agencies with timely guidance on defeating the pandemic is 
        needed. Recent changes in the CDC's guidance were a welcome 
        development to our members. Those who have chosen to receive 
        vaccines should have more freedom and flexibility. However, the 
        swiftness of the changes left many businesses scrambling to 
        interpret the new guidance and assess the impact on their 
        businesses. Even today, guidance from the CDC, Department of 
        Transportation and OSHA can be viewed as conflicting.

   Florida and much of the Nation is experiencing a labor 
        shortage and it is acute in Florida's hospitality industry. 
        There are many facets to this problem and I'm not an expert on 
        the labor economy. We know that many of our members are 
        experiencing this in part because of the continued payment of 
        state unemployment insurance benefits and Federal unemployment 
        relief programs (FPUC and American Rescue Plan). Though 
        anecdotal, former employees are specifically stating this as a 
        reason for not returning to work. Fortunately, Governor Ron 
        DeSantis has directed the Florida Department of Economic 
        Opportunity to discontinue waiving the work search and work 
        registration requirements on May 29, 2021. Reigning in of the 
        Federal program with work search requirements will assist us 
        with our collective efforts to get America back to work.

   As discussed in your last hearing, the cruise industry--an 
        industry I have no direct, professional role in--is still 
        waiting for clear guidance from the CDC. The cruise industry 
        and the attraction industry are fierce competitors--attractions 
        desiring to keep travel dollars in Florida, the cruising 
        industry sending travel dollars to other cruise destinations, 
        but we need each other to achieve our individual and collective 
        business objectives.

    Addressing these issues, along with your support of Brand USA will 
help us move our tourism economy forward, prepared for post-pandemic 
success. Thank you for your leadership in supporting America's 
hospitality workforce and small businesses. I am happy to answer your 
questions.

    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Mr. Lupfer. Testifying next is 
Shaundell Newsome, Chairman of the Las Vegas Urban Chamber of 
Commerce. Mr. Newsome is a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air 
Force and a small business owner for the past 15 years. Through 
both his personal work and the Urban Chamber of Commerce, Mr. 
Newsome connects small business owners with the resources and 
access they need to both regional and global markets.
    Mr. Newsome, you are recognized for your opening remarks.

    STATEMENT OF SHAUNDELL NEWSOME, CHAIR, URBAN CHAMBER OF 
                       COMMERCE LAS VEGAS

    Mr. Newsome. Thank you, Madame Chair and members of the 
Senate subcommittee, good afternoon. Again, my name is 
Shaundell Newsome, a Nevada small business owner and founder of 
Sumnu Marketing, a firm in partnership with my wife Arlene, and 
my daughter Tiara. In 2015, we were recognized as SBA Nevada 
Family Owned Business of the Year. Currently, I chair the Las 
Vegas Urban Chamber of Commerce, Co-Chair Small Business for 
America's Future, serve as a Trustee for the Las Vegas Chamber 
of Commerce, and Co-Chair for the Henderson Chamber's Issues 
Committee. So, I am extremely engaged and involved in my small 
and minority business community.
    Today, I am here to speak directly to Investing in 
America's Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Small Business. 
And I want to thank Senator Rosen, a true small business 
champion, for this opportunity to address you.
    After serving a decade in the military, I worked for a 
gaming and hospitality family owned small business, Station 
Casinos, in Nevada as a Marketing Director. This is where I 
connected the dots between workforce and small businesses. Not 
only did we hire thousands of employees with growth, but our 
local small businesses also benefited from our needs to procure 
products and services. We purchased balloons, t-shirts, 
signage, and many products and services from local small 
business vendors.
    The Las Vegas Strip casinos produce many jobs and 
procurement opportunities for small businesses. But I know that 
many of you outside of Nevada may not realize that there are 
small casino operators like Henderson's Rainbow and Emerald 
Island, with my friend Tim Brooks as the owner. And the Poker 
Palace, owned by Mickey and Laura Coleman in North Las Vegas. 
They have served the community since even before I arrived in 
1987 to Nellis Air Force Base. Yes, I know these small business 
owners personally. Despite being the Entertainment Capitol of 
the World and a global destination, Las Vegas and in particular 
Southern Nevada is a small tight community.
    When one business in a tight community feels a burden, we 
all feel a burden. The impact of a decrease in business and 
leisure travel is felt from our major corporations to the 
smallest Main Street companies. Contracts for my company and 
many others were either delayed or cancelled immediately 
causing instant closures and much uncertainty. Small business 
owners had to reach into our bag of innovative tricks to 
survive.
    School and daycare closures put our employees in a bad 
position. Once we were clear to open again with social 
distancing, our firm decided to create office space for 
children to attend school remotely, giving their parents 
comfort and peace of mind. The new normal meant that we had to 
be flexible with team members working remotely, with 
alternating days in the office to keep everyone safe. We 
followed the science and survived with no major concerns.
    Investing in America's Tourism and Hospitality Workforce 
and Small Business is a safe bet, pun intended, for this 
country. I implore this committee to double down on the recent 
successful American Rescue Plan, by investing in America's 
Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Small Businesses, to 
rebuild our economy. In addition, we should all push all of our 
chips to the middle of the table on the American Jobs Plan to 
rebuild our infrastructure and create necessary job 
opportunities for individuals and contracts for small 
businesses.
    Thank you very much for realizing the importance of the 
tourism, travel, and hospitality industry, and small 
businesses. We are all winners when we invest wisely this way. 
Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Newsome follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Shaundell Newsome, Founder/Visionary, 
                            Sumnu Marketing
    Madame Chair and members of the senate subcommittee,

    Good evening. My name is Shaundell Newsome, a Nevada small business 
owner and founder of Sumnu Marketing, a firm in partnership with my 
wife Arlene and my daughter Tiara. In 2015 we were recognized as SBA 
Nevada Family-Owned Business of the Year.
    Currently, I chair the Urban Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas Board of 
Directors, Co-Chair Small Business for America's Future, serve as a 
Trustee for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and Co-Chair for the 
Henderson Chamber's Issues Committee. So, I am extremely engaged and 
involved in my small and minority business community.
    Today, I am here to speak directly to Investing in America's 
Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Small Business. And I want to 
thank Senator Rosen, a true small business champion for this 
opportunity to address you.
    After serving a decade in the military, I worked for a gaming and 
hospitality family-owned small business, Station Casinos in Nevada as a 
Marketing Director. This is where I connected the dots between 
workforce and small businesses. Not only did we hire thousands of 
employees with growth, but our local small businesses also benefitted 
from our needs to procure products and services. We purchased balloons, 
t-shirts, signage and many products and services from local small 
business vendors. The Las Vegas Strip casinos produce many jobs and 
procurement opportunities for small companies. But I know that many of 
you outside of Nevada may not realize that there are small casino 
operators like Henderson's Rainbow and Emerald Island with my friend 
Tim Brooks as an owner. And the Poker Palace owned by Mickey and Laura 
Coleman in North Las Vegas has served the community since even before I 
arrived in 1987 to Nellis AFB. Yes. I know these small business owners 
personally. Despite being the Entertainment Capitol of the World and a 
global destination, Las Vegas and in particular Southern Nevada is a 
small tight community.
    When one business owner in a tight community feels a burden, we all 
feel a burden. The impact of a decrease in business and leisure travel 
is felt from our major corporations to the smallest main street 
companies. Contracts for my company and many others were either delayed 
or canceled immediately causing instant closures and uncertainty. Small 
business owners had to reach into our bag of innovative tricks to 
survive. School and daycare closures put our employees in a bad 
position. Once we were clear to open again with social distancing our 
firm decided to create office space for children to attend school 
remotely, giving their parents comfort and peace of mind. The new 
normal meant that we had to be flexible with team members working 
remotely with alternating days in the office to keep everyone safe. We 
followed the science and survived with no major concerns.
    Investing in America's Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Small 
Business is a safe BET, pun intended, for this country. I implore this 
committee to DOUBLE DOWN on the recent successful American Rescue Plan 
by investing in America's Tourism and Hospitality Workforce and Small 
Businesses to rebuild our economy. In addition, we should PUSH ALL OF 
OUR CHIPS TO MIDDLE OF THE TABLE on the American Jobs Plan to rebuild 
our infrastructure and create necessary job opportunities for 
individuals and contracts for small businesses.
    Thank you very much for realizing the importance of the tourism, 
travel and hospitality industry and small businesses. We are all 
WINNERS when we invest wisely this way.

    Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Mr. Newsome for your 
remarks on tourism and small business, the nexus between the 
two.
    So, Senator Scott, I am going to turn it over to you to 
introduce our fourth and final witness, please.
    Senator Scott. Thank you, Chair Rosen. Drew Daly, Senior 
Vice President of Dream Vacations World Travel Holdings is here 
today to represent--and represents World Travel Holdings. He 
began working for the company as a travel agent. Now, he runs 
their Dream Vacations' CruiseOne and Cruise, Inc. divisions. He 
also serves on the Starboard, which is the steering committee 
for the Cruise Lines International Association. Welcome, Drew.

   STATEMENT OF DREW DALY, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL 
      MANAGER, CRUISEONE, DREAM VACATIONS AND CRUISES INC.

    Mr. Daly. Thank you, Senator Scott. Chairwoman Rosen, 
Ranking Member Scott, and members of the Subcommittee, thank 
you for your efforts to bring attention to the devastating 
economic impact suffered by the countless travel and tourism 
industry workers and small businesses across the U.S. due to 
the pandemic. It is a true honor and privilege to represent 
World Travel Holdings, Dream Vacations Travel Advisors, and the 
broader travel advisor community across the United States.
    Travel agents do in fact exist, and over the years, they 
have evolved into travel advisors. Travel advisors play a 
critical role in working with clients to plan travel for 
business and leisure purposes. Today, the entire travel 
industry comprises tens of thousands of travel advisors who are 
running their own businesses. The majority of them work from 
home and are, literally, building their business in their 
neighborhoods, backyards, and in their communities.
    At Dream Vacations, we support thousands of small business 
owners around the country, who took a chance and had a dream to 
start a business and create something that was their own. Some 
have been doing it for more than 30 years and, believe it or 
not, quite a few started their business in the midst of the 
pandemic.
    All travel advisors earn a living based on what they sell 
their customers, and they get paid when their customers 
actually travel. One tourism sector that is especially 
important to travel advisors is the cruise industry. Seventy-
eight percent of all cruise vacations are booked by a travel 
advisor in the industry and cruise accounts for a large portion 
of their business. More than 70 percent of the cruise bookings 
made today are set to depart in 2022 or later, which means 
these businesses will not get paid, largely, for another year.
    Despite industry leading protocols and proving sailings in 
other regions of the world, it has been almost 16 months since 
cruise ships departed from U.S. ports, ultimately impacting the 
livelihood of tens of thousands small business owners during 
that time. Cruise is the only travel and tourism sector in the 
United States still shut down.
    Thank you so much for your support in the passage, last 
week, of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act. And we were 
thrilled to see yesterday's signing of the bill by President 
Biden. Alaska is a critical cruise market, not just in terms of 
cruise bookings, but also, the jobs supported by the cruise 
passengers that visit the state.
    My written testimony outlines the devastating impact to the 
travel industry, but here are a few statistics, specifically. 
The reduction in travel caused by COVID-19 resulted in a $500 
billion loss in travel spending across the United States in 
2020, with 5.6 million travel-supported jobs lost, accounting 
for 65 percent of all jobs lost in the country. For the cruise 
industry, it represents $39 billion in total economic losses, 
including the loss of 300,000 jobs along with $16.5 billion in 
wages.
    We have seen a number of our travel advisors shift gears 
and do their best to make a living during this downturn. 
Specifically in Florida, one of our top franchisees, who has 
been in business for 30 years, had to go back and become a 
school nurse. And another went and got a job at a local grocery 
store. In Nevada, one resorted to becoming an Uber driver, and 
to be delivering Uber Eats, just to put food on the table. In 
Washington State, we have several franchises partner with local 
businesses in their communities, to do virtual wine tasting 
events, just so they can maintain relevance in their customers' 
mindset, while they could not travel.
    Congress can help the travel and tourism sector recover by 
enacting policies to spur travel demand and support workers who 
are not yet fully participating in our country's economic 
recovery. We are so grateful for the strong economic support 
provided by the CARES Act, and subsequent relief packages 
approved by Congress. Relief packages like the Paycheck 
Protection Program provided much needed lifelines to many of 
these small businesses and workers, in the travel and tourism 
sector.
    Every week, my team and I have individual conversations 
with small business owners and the stories that we hear are 
truly heartbreaking, as families? livelihoods are on the line. 
Because travel agents do not earn an income until their 
customer travels, we anticipate that many travel advisors could 
suffer financial hardship for the next year, as they continue 
to book in the future. With the Paycheck Protection Program set 
to expire in May, I ask that you consider extending targeted 
relief programs for sectors that will take longer to recover.
    Finally, the return of cruising out of the U.S. is a vital 
step. The biggest hurdle now, for the continued success of our 
travel advisors, is for cruising and all forms of travel to 
come back full throttle.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today on 
behalf of the entire travel advisor community. Your efforts to 
support the rebuild and recovery for travel and tourism and the 
many small businesses that are critical to the sector, are 
greatly appreciated. I promise, travel advisors are certainly 
going to play a key role in helping get Americans traveling 
again and boosting economic recovery across the entire country. 
We need to ensure that these businesses and their workers can 
survive the remaining challenges presented by the pandemic 
overall.
    Thank you and I look forward to hearing your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Daly follows:]

  Prepared Statement of Drew Daly, Senior Vice President and General 
         Manager of CruiseOne, Dream Vacations and Cruises Inc.
    Chairwoman Rosen, Ranking Member Scott, and Members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for holding this important hearing, and for 
your efforts to bring attention to the devastating economic impact 
suffered by the countless travel and tourism industry workers and small 
businesses across the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    My name is Drew Daly, and I am the Senior Vice President and 
General Manager of CruiseOne, Dream Vacations and Cruises Inc. 
(hereinafter collectively referred to as ``Dream Vacations''), which is 
part of World Travel Holdings, the Nation's largest cruise agency and 
award-winning leisure travel company. Dream Vacations is a low-cost, 
low-investment homebased travel agency franchise with several thousand 
franchise owners nationwide. We provide our network of travel advisors 
with the resources they need to own and operate a small business and 
make it successful in the long term.
    As we build our network across the United States, we strive to 
promote diversity and support veterans. Recognizing that the skills 
veterans learn in the military translate well into business ownership, 
Dream Vacations is committed to recruiting military veterans and their 
spouses. We are the only travel advisor franchise to have a ``5-Star 
Ranking'' as a member of the International Franchise Association's 
VetFran initiative. More than 35 percent of our travel advisor network 
consists of military veterans or active-duty spouses. In addition, 
approximately 70 percent of our travel advisor franchises are women-
owned. Running a Dream Vacations travel advisor franchise is a popular 
career path for ``mompreneurs'' and stay-at-home parents because they 
have the flexibility to set their own hours to revolve around family 
schedules.
Travel Advisors Make Travel Happen
    On behalf of Dream Vacations' travel advisors, World Travel 
Holdings, and the broader travel advisor community across the United 
States, I am pleased to participate in today's hearing. Travel agents 
do in fact exist, and over the years, we have evolved into travel 
advisors. Travel advisors play a critical role in working with clients 
to plan travel for business and leisure purposes, delivering 
exceptional customer service.
    Travel advisors earn a living based on what they sell to their 
customers and get paid on the actual departure. We book vacation 
packages, hotels, car rentals, tours and excursions, airline tickets, 
and many other components of the travel journey. We truly are focused 
on ensuring that consumers and travelers maximize their investment and 
receive the best experience that suits their needs. One travel and 
tourism sector that is especially important to Dream Vacations, World 
Travel Holdings, and our travel advisors is cruise. Seventy-eight 
percent of all cruises are booked by a travel advisor, and largely 75 
percent of the business that comes through the doors of these small 
business owners is from cruise.
    Today, more than 70 percent of our cruise bookings are for 2022 
departures. Despite industry leading protocols and proven sailings in 
other regions of the world, it has been almost 16 months since cruise 
ships departed from U.S. ports. Although we do see hope for a restart 
of cruise on the horizon, tens of thousands of small business owners in 
the cruise community have been directly impacted by the suspension of 
cruise operations and without revenue for 16 months. The biggest hurdle 
now for the continued success of our travel advisors is for cruising 
and all forms of travel to come back full throttle.
    We were pleased to see passage last week of the Alaska Tourism 
Restoration Act introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator 
Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Representative Don Young (R-AK). This removes 
a barrier to the restart of cruises in Alaska by temporarily waiving 
the requirement of the Passenger Vessel Services Act for Alaska cruises 
departing from Washington State to stop in Canada for the duration of 
Canada's ban on cruise ships in its waters. Alaska is a critical cruise 
market, not just in terms of cruise bookings, but also the jobs 
supported by the cruise passengers that visit the state. We greatly 
appreciate the work of the Senate Commerce Committee and Alaska's 
Congressional Delegation in supporting the resumption of cruise 
operations, and our hope is that cruises will be able to sail from U.S. 
ports this July.
Devastating Impacts of COVID-19
    Travel advisors play a critical role in advocating on behalf of 
their customers. Like an attorney or financial advisor, they have a 
fiduciary duty to do what is best for their clients, while ensuring 
they are protected when traveling should any challenges arise along 
their journeys. As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic certainly 
highlighted this important work. Travel advisors worked around the 
clock to make alternative arrangements to bring stranded Americans home 
from far away destinations when international borders began to close. 
While travel advisors remained busy at the beginning of the COVID-19 
pandemic helping clients adjust travel plans, new business quickly 
disappeared as Americans and the rest of world abruptly stopped 
traveling.
    The resulting devastation felt across the entire travel and tourism 
industry was unimaginable. According to the U.S. Travel Association, 
the reduction in travel caused by COVID-19 resulted in a $500 billion 
loss in travel spending across the United States in 2020, with 5.6 
million travel-supported jobs lost, accounting for 65 percent of all 
jobs lost in the country.\1\ Specific travel sectors, such as cruise, 
have been hit particularly hard. According to the Cruise Lines 
International Association, the cruise industry in the United States has 
suffered $39 billion in total economic losses, including the loss or 
significant reduction of work of more than 300,000 jobs along with 
$16.5 billion in wages, since voluntarily suspending operations in 
March 2020. Cruise is the only travel and tourism sector in the United 
States still shut down, although discussions with the U.S. Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention toward the restart of cruises from U.S. 
ports remain underway.
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Research_Fact-Sheet_Industry
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    We have seen a number of our travel advisors shift gears and do 
their best to make a living during this downturn. In Florida, several 
locations unfortunately closed their doors and others who have resorted 
to other sources of income. For example, one of our top producing 
franchisees nationwide and a Florida resident had to go back to being a 
school nurse to earn an income, while another franchisee started 
working in a local grocery store. In Nevada, we saw a franchisee become 
an Uber driver to provide for some money coming in so they can put food 
on the table for their families. An agency in Washington state started 
hosting virtual wine tasting events and partnering with other local 
businesses so they can provide experiences to their customers and 
maintain relevance.
    While we are optimistic about the prospect of a return to normalcy 
as the public health environment in the United States continues to 
improve with widespread vaccination and with many Americans now ready 
to make plans for summer vacations, the reality is that the recovery 
will not happen overnight. The U.S. Travel Association expects that it 
will take the travel and tourism sector five years to fully recover 
from the losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. My sincere 
hope is that the recovery will not take that long.
Congress Can Help Recover Travel Demand
    Congress can help the travel and tourism sector recover by enacting 
policies to spur travel demand and support workers who are not yet 
fully participating in our country's economic recovery. While many 
Americans are now ready to travel again, others may still be hesitant 
or may be recovering from the economic toll of the pandemic. The 
economic impact has been unequal across sectors and regions in our 
country. Many Americans that would welcome the opportunity to travel 
simply may be unable to because of the financial hit they have suffered 
over the last year. Providing temporary targeted relief that encourages 
Americans to travel could boost demand, allow travel providers to hire 
back workers, and speed up the recovery of our sector.
    Many workers and businesses in the travel and tourism community, 
including our travel advisors, are grateful for the strong economic 
support provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 
(CARES) Act, and subsequent relief packages approved by Congress. 
Relief programs like the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck 
Protection Program (PPP) provided much needed lifelines to many small 
businesses and workers in the travel and tourism sector that suffered 
catastrophic business losses because of the pandemic. However, many 
others were unable to qualify for the programs. Because travel advisors 
make money on departures, we have many new small business owners who 
have made sales but have not yet earned anything. Since they had no 
income at the time, they did not qualify for CARES Act relief funding.
    Every week my team has individual conversations with small business 
owners about staying motivated and focused on the future as we know it 
is going to be brighter. However, the stories that we hear are truly 
heartbreaking as families' livelihoods are on the line. Because travel 
agents do not earn an income until travelers travel, we anticipate that 
many travel advisors could suffer financial hardship for the next year 
as they continue booking future travel. Given these challenges, many 
travel advisors still need help. With the PPP set to expire in May, I 
ask that you consider extending targeted relief programs for sectors 
that will take longer to recover.
Closing Summary
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify before the 
Subcommittee today. On behalf of the travel advisor community, your 
efforts to support the recovery travel and tourism and the many small 
businesses that are critical to the sector are greatly appreciated. 
Travel advisors are certainly going to play a key role in helping get 
Americans traveling again, boosting economic recovery across the United 
States. We need to ensure these businesses and their workers can 
survive the remaining challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. I 
look forward to your questions.

    Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Mr. Daly, and again, I want 
to thank all of our witnesses for joining today and for their 
thoughtful opening statements.
    So, I am going to start it off with a question to Mr. 
Newsome about small businesses, and then, move on to Mr. Taylor 
to talk a little bit about our hospitality work force.
    So, over the past year, Nevada's small businesses, 
particularly the businesses who depend on our tourism and 
hospitality industry for their customers, of course, we know 
they struggle to keep their doors open, due to COVID-19. In 
response, Congress passed numerous small business support 
programs, Paycheck Protection Program, the Restaurant 
Revitalization Fund. Those help small businesses stay afloat 
and keep their workers on the payroll. Unfortunately, PPP ran 
out of funds on May 4th and just yesterday, the Restaurant 
Revitalization Fund stopped taking new applications.
    With hospitality and tourism being slower to recover than 
other industries, additional limited, targeted relief may be 
needed until business and leisure travelers, in both the U.S. 
and abroad, have the confidence to travel once again.
    So, Mr. Newsome, as the tourism and hospitality industry 
slowly recovers from the economic impacts of this public health 
crisis, what additional support do you think Congress could 
provide to our small businesses, and what investments, do you 
think, we might make broadly going forward? We want a healthy 
recovery, and we want a robust one and we want to support 
everything that you are working on.
    Mr. Newsome. Well, thank you very much, Senator Rosen. One 
of the things that I think is real important is continuing to 
provide access to capital, to small and minority businesses. As 
we know, systemically, that has been a challenge, especially 
for most of our minority owned firms. We found that, even prior 
to the pandemic, it was very, very difficult to get access to 
capital. Opening up CDFIs and opening up alternative lending 
resources, have been very beneficial to small businesses.
    The other thing is broadband. As you know, in Nevada, we 
have a lot of rural businesses. And really, you know, they have 
a challenge with some of these Zoom calls and different 
opportunities to do business online. So, I think that is 
extremely important. And one of the things--the other thing 
that I mentioned was childcare. I know that a lot of my--you 
know, my employees and people who are members of the Chamber, 
they were not only challenged with going back to work--a lot of 
the employees were not just challenged with any funding from a 
package or from unemployment, but a lot of them were struggling 
with childcare.
    Senator Rosen. Right.
    Mr. Newsome. And what do they do with their children to 
keep them safe. So, I would say that those are--those are one 
of the crucial, but for--in particular, for small business 
owners, continue to fund the small business development 
centers. Continue to fund the resources that help small 
businesses to--small business owners, to become better 
operators of their business.
    I was fortunate to spend time in the military. I was 
fortunate and blessed to work in gaming and hospitality. And I 
learned a lot from those industries. Not everybody has that 
opportunity. So, I think that is a--that is a great opportunity 
there.
    And then, the last thing that I would say is real important 
is, the healthcare cost. It is really important that we help 
small businesses have an opportunity to provide affordable 
healthcare for their employees, as well as, you know, try to 
defray the cost. And make sure that we are not spending all of 
our money on healthcare, where we should be providing most of 
the money to our employees and helping to provide better 
services to our clients and our customers.
    So, I think what is important is, do not forget small 
businesses. The small businesses are the backbone of this 
country. We bring people back to work faster. We do a lot, so 
we do appreciate what has happened. But there is a lot more to 
be done. Thank you.
    Senator Rosen. Well, that is a good segue, thank you, to 
Mr. Taylor because, earlier this year, we--American Rescue Plan 
covered--Senator Cortez Masto and I worked diligently to be 
sure that 100 percent of COBRA insurance was covered during the 
pandemic. People lost their job, through no fault of their own, 
and we really secured that. We know how important it was to our 
Culinary Workers' Union, to all the union members, and just 
workers across this country.
    So, just a few seconds I have left. We will go into a 
second round, of course. Can you talk about the impact that 
fully subsidized COBRA health benefits had on our members in 
the hospitality and tourism industry?
    Mr. Taylor. Yes, Senator Rosen. I think that that is one of 
the keystones of what has helped people survive. The 100 
percent COBRA subsidy is going to allow members to get back on 
health insurance. In our industry--in the--basically, a lot in 
the hospitality industry, only 23 percent of employers continue 
to provide healthcare benefits. So, in the middle of a 
healthcare pandemic, we had people losing healthcare.
    So, this has been a huge plus under the American Rescue 
Plan. We are enrolling people now. It is for 6 months. And, 
bluntly, if I was looking ahead about what Congress can do, is 
even if people are returning to work, they often have to 
requalify for healthcare. Continuing the (inaudible) helps both 
small and large business, right now, because I (inaudible) 
right when we were shut down, right in the middle of a 
healthcare pandemic, we had people losing healthcare. That 
seems counterintuitive to just basic reason.
    I cannot think of anything more impactful that came under 
the American Rescue Plan, than the 100 percent COBRA subsidy.
    Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Mr. Taylor. Senator Cortez 
Masto and I were glad to work on that. So, Senator Scott, you 
are recognized.
    Senator Scott. Great. Thank you, Chair Rosen. So, Mr. 
Lupfer, can you talk about--we have heard, I think, from Mr. 
Taylor and Mr. Newsome, some of the challenges that they have 
had with labor shortages. Can you talk about some of the issues 
that your industry has had with labor shortages?
    Mr. Lupfer. Yes, thank you, Senator. Labor shortages is not 
an issue that is new to us in Florida. The tourism industry has 
grown tremendously, as population has grown. But a lot of the 
population growth we have seen in Florida is retirees. I think 
it is interesting, Senator, that when you were Governor, you 
doubled--you increased tourism promotion funding by 50 percent, 
and we ended up netting a 50 percent increase in visitation to 
the State of Florida. So, certainly, the economics continuing 
to drive visitors to the Sunshine State, has put even more 
strain on the labor market.
    It also has affected wages. You know, the minimum wage is 
not something that is even talked about anymore. Florida's 
employers are paying significantly more than minimum wage. One 
of the things that is particularly interesting is the fact that 
teens are less and less inclined to participate in summer jobs. 
And you know, traditionally in America, summertime was the time 
when you go back, and you get the job and earn a few bucks and 
learn some skills and accept some responsibility. But there is 
some interesting statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
that demonstrate that less and less teens are participating in 
the labor force.
    Another thing that is affecting us right now is the 
inability for the Department of State to provide visas for the 
summer workforce program. And typically, there is about 100,000 
international students that come into the United States to 
participate in learning more about America, our economy and our 
culture, while working during the summertime. And 
unfortunately, this year that number is only about 5 percent of 
that, or about 5,000.
    So, there are a lot of things contributing to that. It is 
not necessarily a new issue. It is not necessarily an issue 
with COVID and with the pandemic. But it is--it is really a 
seat change in America and the population and what types of 
futures people are looking for. I think our industry, the 
tourism and travel industry, needs to do a better job of 
demonstrating and telling our story and why, particularly 
entry-level jobs in tourism and travel are so important. And in 
fact, statistics from U.S. Travel Association demonstrate that 
people whose first job is in tourism will, by age 50, end up 
earning more per year than those who started their careers in 
healthcare or manufacturing or other industries in Florida. So, 
it is a great entry-level opportunity. And, I think, the best 
opportunity we have is to get more young people excited and 
interested in the futures in the hospitality industry.
    Senator Scott. Thank you, Mr. Lupfer. Mr. Daly, can you 
talk about how many jobs you estimate rely on the cruising 
industry, directly and indirectly, in the United States and in 
Florida, and what your estimated timeline is for all those jobs 
to return? And do you believe they will return?
    Mr. Daly. So, thank you for the question, great question. 
So, yes, I do think, as we are seeing--we have signs coming up, 
right now, of the rebuild and recovery, of course, I mentioned 
with the recent announcements toward Alaska. About 300,000 jobs 
were impacted in 2020 from the industry, due to the pandemic.
    I do believe, based on what we are seeing--you know, 
obviously, the goal is a return to normal and what that looks 
like. I can say that, in 2022, then--and in the future, the 
demand for cruising and the response to it from consumers for 
that--and from the local advisors in their communities, it has 
been--it has never been greater.
    So, it is going to be a thunderous return, and ultimately, 
with that will come back the jobs and of course--and it impacts 
more than just the jobs within the cruise industry, per se. But 
it is the ancillary industries, as well, that affect 
hospitality and all the local areas and cities where cruises 
sail from, around the United States and as well, into other 
markets, too.
    Senator Scott. Thanks, Mr. Daly. Do you believe that the--
both customers, passengers, and workers can come back to the 
cruise industry and operate safely?
    Mr. Daly. Without a doubt. I mean, with the safety and--
safety and--safety--first, health and safety protocols have 
never been more important to the cruise industry. They always 
have been. And I think the enhancements that they have had over 
the past 16 months, understanding the science, what we have 
been seeing in our own backyards, I mean, now--people used to 
show pictures of, when someone is traveling, of eating a meal. 
Now they are showing pictures of someone cleaning a seat at an 
airport or in a hotel.
    And ultimately, I think, what we have seen and what we will 
see, is the safety protocols, the healthy sail panels of the 
cruise lines, partnered with the Cruise Line International 
Association, to ensure they were working with the experts. 
Working with science, finding the right solutions so they can 
safely return to service with social distancing protocols and, 
of course, with the recent vaccinations and the rollout of the 
vaccinations, successfully around the United States. That is 
going to be a significant factor in the safe return to 
cruising.
    Senator Scott. Thank you, Mr. Daly. Thank you, Chair Rosen.
    Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Mr. Daly. Senator Klobuchar 
is here. We are going to give her a moment to get into her 
seat, and then, she will ask the next question. We have--she 
has been kind enough to join us here in person, even though so 
much of our hearings have been remote because of COVID. So, we 
are happy to see her here. Senator Klobuchar.

               STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA

    Senator Klobuchar. Well, thank you very much, Chairwoman, 
and for your great work in Nevada and across the country, when 
it comes to tourism, as well as thank you so much, Senator 
Scott. I know that last week you had a hearing on international 
tourism and really, really important topics.
    Senator Blunt and I lead the Brand USA reauthorization and 
I guess I would start with that, with you, Mr. Lupfer. In your 
testimony, you emphasized the importance of that, when it comes 
to international travel. And one recent report found that, if 
international travel does not begin to reopen soon, the U.S. is 
projected to lose $175 billion in spending by the end of 2021.
    Can you talk about the importance of the role of Brand USA 
in the past and what we need to do going forward?
    Mr. Lupfer. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Yes, you know, if 
you think about tourism marketing, there are, kind of, three 
buckets. There is your local level, which is the county, your 
State level, and the national level. And for a long time, the 
United States was without a travel and tourism marketing 
office. And at this point, our attraction members, even the 
smallest members, are able to participate in international 
marketing because the leveraging that is permitted by working 
with your county, who is then working with your State office, 
then working with your--with our national office at Brand USA, 
to take those dollars, collectively, and to spread the good 
news of the destinations that America has to offer.
    The United States is an incredible country. And our history 
and our culture and our natural resources are not like anything 
else in the world, even though we are a relatively small 
country. And I am amazed at the international travelers we have 
at Florida, and what interests them and what excites them, are 
things that locals, kind of, take for granted. You know, show 
them an alligator and their day is made. Show me an alligator 
and it is roadkill.
    So, what attracts internationals is so different. And what 
Chris Thompson and his team at Brand USA are able to offer is 
an incredible opportunity for all members of the United States 
tourism and travel community to participate in sharing the 
story of America with people around the world.
    Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Well, thank you, yes. We may 
not have alligators in Minnesota. We do have walleye.
    With that, I am going to turn it over to my good friend, 
Mr. Taylor--or as I know him, D. How are you, Mr. Taylor?
    Mr. Taylor. Senator, thank you.
    Senator Klobuchar. OK, good. I wanted to ask you about 
business travel because the hotel industry is expected to be 
down 500,000 jobs by the end of 2021, partly due to predicted 
permanent changes in business travel. So, even as we get out of 
this pandemic, there is going to be this even longer transition 
when it comes to business travel. Could you talk about that 
problem? And I think one report found that half of U.S. hotel 
rooms are projected to remain empty in 2021. That is about 
180,000 jobs. What more should we do, when it comes to business 
travel and resolving this problem?
    Mr. Taylor. I appreciate the question. I think a few 
things. One, I think tax incentives for conventions and/or 
business travels should be temporarily looked at because in the 
kind of big hotels in the cities, that--they rely heavily on 
business travel. And without that, I think that the--those job 
protections are rosy, compared to bleak.
    Second is, we are worried about a jobless recovery, in 
certain cases with the hotel industry, because they have made 
it very clear, on the earnings calls, etc., about not doing 
certain things that we have always assumed staying in a hotel, 
like, having your room cleaned by a housekeeper, being part of 
the thing that is enjoyable and actually, charging for that. 
So, that is an issue.
    And a final thing is this, I think, without any question, 
if you look at almost every major metropolitan area, the first, 
second, third largest industry is the tourism industry. I think 
we have to figure out how we view those job as just as 
important as manufacturing jobs. Just as important as retail 
jobs. No one, very often, talks about hospitality jobs or 
tourism jobs. It is easy to do that in Florida or Nevada. But 
even in, say, Minneapolis, St. Paul, tourism is a huge part of 
that downtown area, why people come to, etc.
    So, I think we have to change our dialogue on that, and we 
have to do promotions like that, and incentives like that, like 
we do in other industries.
    Senator Klobuchar. Very good. Mr. Newsome, you want to add 
anything to that?
    Mr. Newsome. Thank you--thank you, Senator. You know, I 
think that D. is right on point when it comes to how we view 
things. And one of the things that I think is real important, 
is the unprecedented partnerships that we have created through 
these tough times. I think that, you know, they say, you know, 
adversity creates strange bedfellows. But I think, in this 
case, strange bedfellows means that all of the organizations 
come together and work together to help with tourism and help 
with--and thinking through things in a whole different way.
    I think that is the beauty of entrepreneurship. That is the 
beauty of small business, is that we think outside of a box. 
And in some cases, we do not have a box because we are focused 
on trying to solve a problem. So, I think that D. is right on 
point with his comments.
    Senator Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you very much, 
appreciate it.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Now joining us 
via WebEx, Senator Blackburn.

              STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE

    Senator Blackburn. Thank you so much, Madam Chairman, and 
thank you for continuing to work on this.
    When you talk about tourism, of course, Memphis, Nashville, 
East Tennessee with the Great Smoky Mountains, which is the 
most visited park in our Federal Park system, we have been 
really hit by this. And as I talk to leaders in the industry, 
whether it is the tour industry, whether it is the motor coach 
industry, whether it is, at some of the small businesses in 
Gatlinburg or the support crew for concerts, and what I am 
hearing is labor shortage. And what I am hearing is the 
increase in Federal unemployment benefits is having a 
significant adverse impact on our labor pool. And it is why our 
Governor, in Tennessee, is ending the end of next month--ending 
the plus up in unemployment.
    So, Mr. Lupfer--am I saying your name right, first?
    Mr. Lupfer. Yes, ma'am, you are.
    Senator Blackburn. OK. Talk to me a little bit--I know 
Miami, Orlando, they are very similar in that, tourists make up 
for the way Nashville and the Smoky Mountains area is. Talk to 
me about how, as the live event industry tries to recover, how 
are these cities, that are event centric, like Orlando, like 
Nashville, going to be able to handle these labor pressures? 
And I appreciate that you mentioned the summer worker program 
that Department of State has had. That has impacted us, also. 
So, give me just a minute on that issue.
    Mr. Lupfer. Yes, sure, thank you very much for the 
question. Yes, the--the event industry, meetings and 
conventions, is--probably one of the two weak links for our 
recovery in Florida is the meetings and convention business and 
the second would be international travel. And the fact that 
Florida was only down 14 percent in the first quarter over last 
year, indicates that we have really had a strong domestic 
recovery already.
    But the labor shortage is a real problem. The Federal 
program in Florida has also been eliminated at the end of next 
month. That will help. But the labor shortage is something that 
predates the pandemic and there is--I think one of the messages 
is, there are great career opportunities, and we need to do a 
better job working with colleges and universities, and high 
schools, in careers--career tracks in the hospitality and 
tourism industry. It is a great industry. It is an 
entrepreneurial industry. It is an industry where you gain 
great responsibility, and it is--it is an area where we need to 
do a better job bringing more people in to want to be a part of 
our industry.
    Senator Blackburn. Well, in last week's hearing, I 
mentioned that CDC, DHS, DOT need to come together on guidance 
to open up international travel. I know Mr. Daly would like to 
see that happen. And I appreciated, in your comments, you said 
that guidance from CDC, DOT, and OSHA would be--can be viewed 
as conflicting. I--talk a little bit about why it is imperative 
that these Federal agencies get on the same--same page, so we 
can get this travel opened up. You know, we have CMA week, that 
usually takes place that first week of June, there in 
Nashville. And it is a big international destination.
    Mr. Lupfer. Thank you, Senator. Yes, the specific conflicts 
I was speaking to were protocols dealing with the virus. And 
the CDC comes out periodically and updates this chart and it is 
really what the news media uses to communicate where we are and 
what is safe and what is not safe, and levels of safety. And 
the inconsistency between the messaging from the CDC and what 
the Department of Transportation says and, finally, how OSHA, 
apparently, is chasing what the CDC is doing, trying to keep up 
but unable to--and on their website, basically, they just punt 
and say, do not look here, look there. But these Federal 
agencies, they need to be in one accord. And if we are going to 
communicate how to stay safe, let us all be on the same page.
    Senator Blackburn. I could not agree more. Mr. Newsome, 
appreciated your testimony about small businesses that contract 
to the hotels because, in Nashville, we have a lot of people 
that provide swag for concerts. And some of them will tell you 
the concert business is 50, 60 percent of their business for 
the year. So, when that shut down, they lost most of their 
revenues. Is that what you are seeing in Nevada?
    Mr. Newsome. Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Senator, for that 
question. You know, one of the things that happens is we forget 
about the hairstylists. We forget about the people who are the 
wardrobe specialists. We forget about some of the small 
businesses that provide microphones, and different things like 
that. Everybody is impacted, from top to bottom, when the 
industry shuts down. And when entertainment goes away--and I am 
happy to say that this week we were talking about entertainment 
coming--live entertainment coming back to Las Vegas, because 
now that just creates so many opportunities and so many jobs. 
So, yes, it absolutely did impact a lot of jobs and a lot of 
small businesses.
    Senator Blackburn. Yes, I think that those guys that are 
the grips and the gaffers and the stylists and they are hauling 
that equipment, they are that entire ecosystem of the live 
event industry. They do the tee shirts, they do the hats, and 
they man the booths. And I am with you. Let us get this money 
back to those small businesses and let us help them get back on 
their feet. We appreciate it.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Senator Blackburn. And I 
would like to open it to another round of questioning for us, 
from Senator Scott.
    Senator Scott. Thank you, Chair Rosen. So, Mr. Taylor, can 
you talk about how you--for the individuals that have been able 
to go back, how have you been able to help your employers 
create a safe environment--work environment? And I am sure it 
is different--they are all different, but I am sure it had been 
difficult. How have you been able to do that?
    Mr. Taylor. Yes--wait a minute, I am muted. OK. Thank you, 
Senator Scott. The nuance of health and safety, I did not meet 
a company in our industry that did not have huge protocol on 
health and safety about people going back to work. Obviously, 
as everybody knows, when the rubber meets the road, it is a 
little bit different, and I think it varied. I think certain 
companies took it quite seriously.
    And because, as I said, and I am sure you understand, the 
quickest way to get people back into our industry--to come back 
is to feel safe. And what we found--for example, I know the 
work I did in Las Vegas around this issue is, we had to explain 
to everybody, you cannot just be safe in one casino or one 
hotel. The virus (inaudible). You cannot just look at the 
(inaudible). You have to also look at the customers. That--
obviously, the same message went throughout.
    I think the best way to get people back, at every level, is 
for the companies to do the kind of stuff on health and safety. 
And candidly, I think one of the ways to do that is, either 
incentivize folks to get vaccinated and those do not--if those 
workers do not want to get vaccinated, they have very, very 
regular COVID testing. Because anybody wants to feel safe. And 
I think that is just a fundamental thing.
    I think--as I said earlier, I think Disney was exemplary, 
in your State, for example. I think there have been some 
exemplary companies about this. And unfortunately, there have 
been some who are not. And unfortunately, those who are not, I 
think, jeopardize everybody else.
    So, I think, more and more, that we can have a level 
playing field of health and safety, the better off we will be 
because, at the end of the day, the hospitality industry relies 
on two things. One, people to have income in order to go 
places. But also, to have the security and feeling of safety. 
And then, you know, finally is, not view the workers as a 
(inaudible) item but view them as a service product that brings 
back loyalty, etc., which I know everybody speaking on this 
call understands very well. Sometimes we have companies that 
understand that very well, and some do not at all.
    So, I appreciate the question, Senator Scott.
    Senator Scott. Thanks, Mr. Taylor, and thanks for what you 
do. Mr. Lupfer, do you believe, over the next 12 months, in 
your industry that you work with is all going to come back, and 
we will have the all the jobs back, that we lost during the 
pandemic?
    Mr. Lupfer. I wish we could get all the workers back, 
actually. That is, kind of, our problem right now. But here is 
a little bit of good news, at least for the folks here in 
Florida. Our Spring Break/Easter season was extraordinary, 
exceeded expectations. We really, kind of, got caught, not 
anticipating what was going to happen.
    And speaking of small business, we had three privately 
owned Mom and Pop attractions that experienced 1-day all time 
attendance records in April of this year. And what we are 
seeing now, for the summer, is a tremendous demand on Florida, 
coast to coast to coast, with pre-bookings. This is going to be 
an exceptional summer season. Really the only thing holding us 
back is going to be labor.
    But I think, a year from now, if COVID continues the 
decline and if there is not any additional big outbreaks, and 
as the world comes back out of this, Florida and the United 
States is going to be in a great place a year from now.
    Senator Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Rosen.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Senator Scott. I have a couple 
more questions I would like to ask. And so, there has been a 
lot of discussion today about our economy being in full 
recovery. So, I want to talk about some of the hardest hit 
states during this economic crisis and where we stand today.
    I am really pleased to hear that Florida is coming back and 
that some of those businesses have had record attendance. And I 
am sure that will continue, and I hope for that. But overall, 
this recovery has been uneven.
    The Bureau of Labor Statistics released state by state 
April unemployment numbers just this past Friday. So, according 
to BLS, 21 states still have an unemployment rate of 6 percent 
or higher. And six states, including Nevada, are still at 8 
percent or higher. Hawaii, which is like Nevada, depends on 
travel and tourism for its economy, is actually the highest at 
8.5 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, we have a dozen 
states with unemployment rates under 4 percent. That is where 
Nevada was, under three percent, when the COVID crisis hit. But 
of course, we are not back there yet.
    So, given how the recovery does look different in different 
parts of the country, it makes sense that it looks different to 
various Senators, depending on where their states are--various 
Governors, as well. So, for my state, which relies heavily on 
tourism and our small businesses that support it, we still do 
need that help.
    And last week in the Subcommittee, we talked about how each 
of our states has so much that is unique and is beautiful to 
offer to tourists and visitors. And likewise, each of our 
states is unique in its public health and economic impact of 
COVID-19.
    So, it is important to remember, while we are all impacted 
by the pandemic, pandemic-related benefits, that may not be 
needed in some parts of the country, may still be needed in 
others, as we begin to all recover together. Because we have to 
get everybody on the other side of this crisis.
    So, Mr. Taylor, with that in mind, I want to ask you a 
couple questions, based on your experience and, of course, all 
of your conversations. Number one, how excited are your members 
to get back to work? And number two, what has the Federal 
unemployment meant to those hospitality workers when we are 
still only, as I think you stated, 50 percent back in Las Vegas 
and so, not robustly back yet?
    Mr. Taylor. Yes, I am--I am somewhat at a loss when I hear 
people do not want to go back to work. I know, when I talk to 
our folks, there is nothing more they want to do but to go back 
to work. They do not view this as a temporary job. This is 
their profession, and they have a lot of pride in that. I 
think, candidly, the standard raised in Las Vegas has allowed 
that, where people can actually buy a home and have, what we 
call, the American Dream. So, I think that is important.
    You know, as--the Federal unemployment has been a 
lifesaver. And it has been a lifesaver because no one gets rich 
on unemployment. The extension of unemployment and increase, I 
think, even--I think the Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said has 
been a huge prevention of, frankly, homelessness, even though, 
as we know, in many major cities, that is a problem. It had 
helped tremendously on that.
    And bluntly, what you all did on--in the CARES Act and the 
American Rescue Plan, on food insecurity--I never thought, in 
this country, I would see the kind of food banks that I have 
seen. But I know in Nevada, as you know, Senator, the Culinary 
Training Academy has been having a food bank 4 days a week. 
Since March of last year, they have distributed over 14 tons of 
food and, frankly, that keeps on going.
    We have--when I hear unemployment at 8 percent, I have no 
idea where they get that number because, as you know, in the 
hospitality industry, whether it be restaurants, hotels, 
casinos, concert venues, etc., those are not back, even in the 
most optimistic sense. And those people are without jobs.
    So, the unemployment, and also the money for food, and 
frankly, the eviction moratorium has been key. So, I cannot 
thank you enough. But nobody wants any of that stuff. They want 
to go back to work. People have pride. They want to work with 
their hands. They want to meet their customers. They want to 
see the loyal people come back.
    So, that is the frustrating thing. At the same time, you 
could open up every place in the world. If people do not feel 
safe, they are not going to come back.
    And I agree on the international travel. We have got to try 
to get international travel moving again. I know, Mr. Lupfer is 
exactly right. America is an unbelievable country. You can see 
the greatest things in the world here and we want them to come 
here. But obviously, part of that has to do with safety and I 
appreciate all the work that you all have done on all of that, 
too.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you. I want to just ask one final 
question and it is really to--it is to Mr. Newsome. You know, 
our pandemic has really had an impact on our worker of color, 
our small business owners. It has disproportionately impacted 
certain racial and ethnic groups, whose employment is 
concentrated in hospitality and leisure.
    During the Great Recession that began in 2008--2008, excuse 
me, Latinos experienced some of the highest levels of 
unemployment because they were heavily concentrated in 
hospitality and construction jobs, two sectors that experienced 
steep downturns. As of 2018, the year for when the most recent 
data is available, 32 percent of Latinos, about 34 percent of 
Asians, which were employed in leisure and hospitality, they 
suggest that workers in these two groups are at higher risk for 
unemployment during economic downturns because of what happens 
in these sectors. Immigrant workers, what we have talked about, 
they have traditionally been mainstays for many of these 
occupations, have also been disproportionately impacted.
    So, as you are Chair of the Urban Chamber, Mr. Newsome, how 
are minority owned businesses working to ensure that workers of 
color, in the hospitality and tourism industry, are not left 
behind? And just--you talked about it a little bit, specific 
things that we may do, in some of those communities, to be sure 
that we keep our small businesses growing every which way we 
can?
    Mr. Newsome. Well, thank you very much for that, Senator 
Rosen. And as you know, you know, in 2008, I was grossly 
impacted by losing 60 percent of my business, which--you know, 
we spend a lot of time working with construction firms and 
working with--in the hospitality industry. And one of the 
things that is real important, is that, you know, we have to 
keep investing. Keep investing in the work force. Keep 
investing in tourism.
    But like I said, really investing in the JOBS Act because 
building the infrastructure is really what helped Nevada make a 
turn for the better, when it came to small and minority firms 
and when it came to rebuilding our economy. Because, as you 
know, we--we passed the Fuel Tax, we--we built the stadium, we 
built the new Convention Center. Those things brought back 
jobs.
    But not only that, our Nevada State legislature, in their 
wisdom, put in the law that 15 percent of those contracts would 
go to small businesses. That was huge because, with a focus on 
that, it really brought back a lot of the work force. It 
brought people back, you know, back from where they wanted to 
work.
    And I agree with D. that people do not want to sit at home. 
People are not trying to figure out how they can just lay back 
and relax on the small amount of support that they receive. 
They really want to be out there working. They want to work 
hard.
    And as you know, Senator Rosen, the Urban Chamber, Latin 
Chamber, and Asian Chamber, in support with our Vegas Chamber 
and the Henderson Chamber, these--these guys all work together. 
I will tell you what I love about being a Nevadan is the fact 
that everybody comes close. Like I said, we are a very, very 
close community, north and south. Most people try to divide us, 
but as a Nevada community, we are all in the same boat and we 
typically come together to make sure that, if the least of us 
suffers, we make sure that we all chip in.
    So, our minority communities can rebound with the support 
of these investments and some of the innovation that we are 
talking about. Plus, it also helps to build our infrastructure. 
It also helps us to build our community. And then, everybody--
everybody working is really what the goal is and getting 
everybody back to recover together. And I call it more than 
recovery. I call it rebounding because I think rebounding means 
you are bouncing back. Recovery is you are going back to where 
you were. I think we need to go better and harder and stronger 
than where we were before.
    Senator Rosen. I like that. We are going to rebound. 
Senator Scott, do you have anything else? Otherwise, I am going 
to close out the hearing.
    [Silence.]
    Senator Rosen. So, I really want to thank all of our 
witnesses for being here today, for your work, for your 
passion, for your care, for your states, for your communities, 
and everything that you do. It is so important, and we will all 
rebound together. So, I really appreciate you all.
    So, for the record, this hearing record will remain open 
for two weeks, until Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Any senators that 
would like to submit questions for the record, should do so by 
Tuesday, June 8, 2021. For those of you who testified today, we 
ask that your responses be returned to the Committee as quickly 
as possible, and in no case, later than two weeks after 
receipt.
    That concludes today's hearing. I thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 4:24 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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