Am I glad to be out of hospitality!

[gimmethesimplelife]

I managed to squeeze in a mystery shop of an airport hotel Wednesday night. Is it ever different from the airport hotel business I remember! I'm going to guess 10 percent occupancy - a skeleton staff - many amenities discontinued - and get this? The front desk person roams about and is not consistently behind the front desk.

Now this is just one hotel. But how many other airport business hotels are playing the same scenario these days and how long can they continue to play it?

A very eye opening experience. I'm very grateful - very much so - to have landed in grocery retail. Rob

[Tammy]

I was in the downtown UPS store yesterday. We talked about how empty our downtown continues to be. I don’t know how the hotels all around the convention center stay open.

[iris lilies]

Fortunately People still need groceries, and it’s not convenient to order much of that stuff from Amazon. So the grocery store job should be pretty stable.

[catherine]

I agree.. I don't want to witness the inside of an airport these days--it has been a second home to me for 20 years and I'm afraid it would be traumatic.

And in terms of hospitality, the same could be said for the restaurant industry. My son was laid off again because they had to shut down outdoor dining up here when it got cold, but the few weeks during the summer that he did go back to work he said it's a completely different vibe. Anxious owners, expanded responsibilities to sterilize bathrooms, a lot of physical labor to carry tables out to the sidewalk every day, unmotivated staff.

He is looking for what to do next.

[Tybee]

Catherine, I thought the social work idea was really good--is he still interested in that? If I were his age, that is what I would do, with an Addictions certification, as there is a lot of mandated diagnosis and treatment in that field.
My son is back cooking at a different restaurant. He has to commute to other side of Portland now. I wish he would go back to school. Trying to talk him into trades, as he has that kind of aptitude.

[iris lilies]

Catherine, I thought the social work idea was really good--is he still interested in that? If I were his age, that is what I would do, with an Addictions certification, as there is a lot of mandated diagnosis and treatment in that field.
My son is back cooking at a different restaurant. He has to commute to other side of Portland now. I wish he would go back to school. Trying to talk him into trades, as he has that kind of aptitude.

The building trades are super busy. Can’t get contractors or any stripe, they are all booked for months.

[pinkytoe]

Liquor and pot stores are hopping.