US: Republican candidate Donald Trump has won the US election, making a historic return to the White House after four years of governance under the Democratic Party.
Trump has secured a second term in office following a heated contest with Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.
Surveys indicated that Americans trusted Trump on the top two issues of immigration and the economy, according to the BBC.
Trump has promised to complete the construction of a wall between the US and Mexico, and said that he would conduct the “largest deportation operation in American history”.
He has also pledged to “end inflation and make America affordable again” by expanding US energy production and opening areas such as the Arctic wilderness for oil drilling to lower energy costs. A number of proposed tax cuts worth trillions would be paid for through higher growth and tariffs on imports.
Industry responses:
Kevin Carey, interim president and CEO, AHLA, said: “We congratulate President Trump on his historic victory. AHLA looks forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration and lawmakers of both parties at every level of government to keep the hotel industry – and the many thousands of small businesses and employees that power it – moving forward.
“The hotel industry is an economic powerhouse for the US economy. AHLA’s overall advocacy goals are to advance public policies that support and enable the industry’s long-term growth potential and protect hoteliers’ bottom lines. Through educating elected officials on the industry’s economic contribution and job-creating power, we seek an environment in which hotel professionals can focus on running and growing their businesses rather than confronting onerous laws and harmful policies. That means supporting business-friendly tax rates and policies to expand the workforce, fighting regulatory overreach, protecting the hotel franchise model from government interference, and ensuring a level playing field for hotels and short-term rentals. AHLA is committed to working with elected officials and policy makers in both parties in pursuit of these crucial priorities,” he added.
Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO, National Restaurant Association, said: “The restaurant industry fuels the nation’s economy, employing more than 15.5 million people and topping annual sales exceeding $1.1 trillion. The last five years have been tough as costs have gone up more than thirty percent for both food and labor. We continue to engage policymakers on both sides of the political aisle to improve the business vitality of restaurants.
“We congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and the newly elected members of the US Senate and House. We look forward to working with members of both parties to advocate for policies that create an environment where restaurants can thrive as a cornerstone of our communities and our economy.”
Earlier this week on Monday, during Marriott‘s Q3 earnings call, the company’s CFO Leeny Oberg said the election is predicted to reduce November RevPAR in the US and Canada by three per cent due to “meaningfully lower transient and group room nights on the books for both this week and next”. She added that Q4 RevPAR is expected to take a one per cent hit because of the election, doubling the impact seen in previous elections.
Michele Allen, CFO at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said that the presidential election “often reduces not just group and conference business, but overall corporate travel.” During the company’s earnings call in October, she added that Wyndham will unlikely be affected by the travel shift since its typical business traveller “is wearing hard hats and work boots.” The growth of Wyndham’s Echo Suites extended stay brand, for example, has been supported by infrastructure and microchip spend – the result of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Biden Administration in 2021.
Speaking at a HAMA meeting in October, Bernard Baumoh, chief economist, Economic Outlook Group, said: “We expect that the unemployment rate will actually be lower under President Trump in the first two years (2025- 2026) and the reason for that is the economy is going to be stronger. There’s going to be more demand for labour, and we already know what President Trump’s immigration policy is going to be; he’s going to significantly close off that border. It’s going to be a minuscule amount of immigration coming in to the country at a time when the labour market is already quite tight, and this is going to lead to the lower levels of unemployment under the Trump administration. Now, that reverses a little bit towards the back two years (2027-2028) and the reason for that is we expect inflation will be considerably higher in the Trump administration.
“My concern is the increase in real spending has been increasing at a faster rate than the increase in real take-home pay. At some point, consumers are going to have to scale back. It’s one of the reasons household debt is now at record levels. People are already maxed out on their credit cards, and they want to continue to spend. So what do they do? They’re digging deeper and deeper into their savings. The savings rate now is at the second lowest that we have seen in 16 years, and the toll it’s taken on households is becoming clearer and clearer,” he added.
Matt Loney, president and CEO, Xplorie, said: “Unfortunately, protectionist US policies are likely to negatively impact travel and tourism, as increased tariffs, stricter immigration laws, and rising travel costs rick deterring international travellers and creating friction with key global markets. A focus on ‘Americanism’ over globalism could also limit the appeal of the US for foreign visitors, impacting tourism revenues and complicating international relations, ultimately raising costs for US travellers abroad.”
On the Beach is offering its UK customers currently holidaying in America the chance to return home early for no extra cost. Zoe Harris, chief customer officer, On the Beach, said: “Trump has all but claimed victory, and we know that for some of our customers, making ‘America great again’ just isn’t on their holiday itinerary. While some customers may prefer a warm brew back home, others see this as a chance to witness history. With Donald’s win, we’re anticipating an increase in bookings for trips to the US.”
Matt Landau, founder, Here Goes Nothin’, said: “Disruption to any system shakes us out of comfort zones and forces us to lead relationships, businesses, and markets more creatively. Creative leadership – the capacity to work outside the box – just became an entrepreneur’s best friend because the competition is stuck.”
