Gabbie Riley has specialized in sports and entertainment sales and operations for the hotel industry and has been out of work since March. She currently lives in Minnesota with her son and their English bulldog rescue. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own; view more opinions on CNN.
What if you woke up one day and discovered that your industry had just disappeared? The industry you had spent years learning, loving, building and becoming respected within just ... gone? While many go on with their new normal of working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, you and your networks of friends and colleagues are left with nothing.I'm in sales for the hotel industry ... or at least I was. On Sunday, March 8, I was heading to California from Minnesota, where, because of the freezing weather, I was in need of a dose of warmth and vitamin D. Little did I know then that a blissful Sunday brunch in Santa Monica would be my last dose of travel for the rest of 2020.
Sorry folks, despite some citing"bad leftist leadership" in blue states for these industries suffering, the fact is that these markets aren't thriving globally. If and when they can begin the process of recovering, there are steep repercussions and hurdles after a year or more without sustainable revenue. Many hotels, restaurants and live music venues will not reopen.That's an abysmal thought.
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