Complete Story
07/08/2020
Protect Ohio Businesses. Sign on to Support Liability Protection. Act Before July 11.
YOUR ACTION NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE CONGRESS TO PROVIDE BUSINESS LIABILITY PROTECTION
Working with US Travel, the Ohio Travel Association and the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association are asking for your signature on a Congressional letter to support protection of our businesses.
Dear [Member of Congress]
On behalf of the Ohio Travel Association and the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, representing thousands of businesses in your state, we commend and appreciate the bipartisan congressional efforts to pass the CARES Act and additional relief bills to protect American livelihoods and businesses. We write to express our belief that further, temporary COVID-19 business liability protections will be necessary to fully restart our economy and put Americans back to work.
Travel industry businesses across Ohio closed in the interest of public health, with small travel businesses bearing the brunt of the economic losses; these businesses are now operating or reopening responsibly following state guidelines. Every day, we hear from businesses regarding the need for COVID-19 business liability protections, as these businesses are following state guidelines (and beyond) to keep their employees and guests safe.
The travel industry is one of the hardest-hit industries in the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the public health crisis, $1.1 trillion in traveler spending in the U.S. generated a total economic impact of $2.6 trillion and supported a total of 15.8 million American jobs. So far this year, declines in travel have cost our economy 8 million jobs, and we are on track to lose a half trillion dollars in travel spending by the end of this year.
In Ohio, we have experienced a $6.8 billion loss thus far due to reduced traveler spending, and our job losses surpass all other industries in the state, as we have a 44% unemployment rate – 54% unemployment of those working in businesses focused on arts, recreation and entertainment.
We understand the travel industry’s economic recovery is contingent on the implementation of proper health and safety practices. Ohio travel economy businesses have followed the Ohio Responsible Restart Guidelines and are implementing the five protocols – employee health assessment, hand washing, sanitization, physical distancing and facial coverings.
If businesses take the necessary steps to protect the health of guests and employees, there must be protections in place to allow them to operate with confidence. These protections should be temporary to protect responsible businesses from frivolous lawsuits during this pandemic and through a period of the economic recovery. Importantly, these measures must be put in place immediately so businesses can do business with confidence and Ohio’s travel economy can continue its recovery.
We thank you for all that you are doing to support Ohio’s travel economy, its workforce and America’s overall recovery efforts.
Your request matters the most as a constituent of these elected officials. Please follow this link to include your business identified in the Ohio support letter. Thank you!
