The head waiter has become a grocery manager. The conference coordinator works at a software company. And the hotel sales boss is now in marketing.
Workers in America’s hotels, restaurants, bars and convention centers were hardest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockups and lack of travel have meant that many assembly points have closed or reduced their staff. As of February 2020, the leisure and hospitality industry has shed nearly four million people, or about a quarter of the workforce. From January 2021, 15.9% of industrial workers remained unemployed; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As a result, millions of hospitality workers – a group that includes everyone from desk clerks to travel managers – are trying to launch new careers. Some have moved into positions that tap into skills honed over years of public work in high-pressure environments. Others have seized the moment to remake themselves for different professions. Many remain in conflict about leaving an industry that they believe is constantly generating new experiences and building lasting relationships.
A year ago, Ellen White was a head coach at Public Kitchen on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. There, she taught the restaurant’s employees about the intricacies of high-end service.
Ms. White supported herself for nearly two decades working in restaurants while acting, until she fell in love with her restaurant job when the pandemic hit last spring. Now she applies that attention to detail to her job as a customer service representative for a company that processes Covid-19 tests at home.