(WSIL) -- Out of 292,000 hotel jobs in Illinois, half of those have been cut this year due to the coronavirus.
reports 8 out of 10 hotel rooms remain empty as restrictions and travel bans reduced foot-traffic for the industry.
The CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association says if revenues do not go up by the holiday season, more businesses will suffer.
"So much of our business depends on not only leisure travelers hitting the road, but also business travelers and that's going to take a long time to recover. We're expecting by the end of 2023, or even into 2024 before we see a full recovery," said Michael Jacobson.
Governor Pritzker announced Tuesday $60 million from the BIG Grants will go directly to hospitality businesses.
