Va. hotels expect 28% drop in 2022 biz travel revenue
Virginia hotel revenue from business travel this year is projected to be down 28.3% from pre-pandemic levels, or about $674 million less than the $2.39 billion the lodging industry took in during 2019, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs. Nationally, the associations forecasts a 23% […]
39% of metro D.C. workers are back in the office
During the week of April 6, offices around the country had the highest number of workers back at their desks since March 2020, according to Falls Church-based Kastle Systems, which is tracking office occupancy data for 10 major cities, including the metro Washington, D.C., region. During the first week in April, an average of 43.1% […]
Code red
Although many business sectors focused on moving on from the COVID-19 pandemic once vaccines became broadly available in 2021, Virginia’s health care industry has remained heavily burdened by continuing caseload surges and extreme staffing shortages. In September 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam voiced frustration at a news conference, saying, “It’s getting to the point where we […]
Kicking the can
In April 2020, Savan Group LLC, a federal contractor specializing in digital transformation, information technology and management consulting, gave up its 10,500-square-foot office space in Tysons. Like many other companies, Savan Group shifted to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but by summer 2021, company President and CEO Veeral Majmudar was ready to look […]
Va. economic growth will slow in 2022, ODU economists predict
Virginia’s economy is likely to grow at a slightly slower pace in 2022 than it did last year, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to make future predictions murky, according to the 2022 Annual Economic Forecast released Wednesday by Old Dominion University‘s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy. “If we can control COVID-19, the economy […]
Parsons lands $100M COVID testing contract
Centreville-based defense contractor Parsons Corp. has been awarded a task order to provide COVID-19 tests to Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities across the United States, the company announced Jan. 19. Parsons will supply emergency-use authorized, portable, rapid molecular and rapid antigen test kits to DHS, as well as provide logistics, […]
VDH funds $5 million for new COVID-19 testing centers
As COVID infection rates reach record numbers from the omicron variant, the Virginia Department of Health will open nine new COVID-19 community testing centers across the state to increase testing availability, Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced Thursday. The centers will offer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, considered the most reliable type of COVID-19 test. The […]
A dramatic shift
Four years ago, no one would have guessed Gov. Ralph Northam would lead the most progressive Virginia administration in modern memory. A native of Onancock on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, as well as a pediatric neurologist and Army veteran, Virginia’s 73rd governor was eyed by some Democrats with suspicion after acknowledging he’d voted twice for President […]
Consumer Technology Association: “CES will and must go on”
The Arlington-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is moving forward with its CES consumer technology trade show in Las Vegas in January, despite cancelations from big exhibitors and the surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant. Formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES typically draws thousands of exhibitors and more than 150,000 attendees. […]
Trucking on: How truckers are battling historic labor shortage
RICHMOND — From hand sanitizer and vaccines to groceries and toilet paper, truck drivers are trucking through the COVID-19 pandemic despite a historic labor shortage. Many industries moved workers home during the start of the pandemic, but truckers worked “to meet the needs of this country.” “The trucking industry has stepped up and delivered through […]
Virginia Society of CPAs’ 2022 Virginia Economic Expectations Survey results
Read more: Virginia Society of CPAs’ 2022 Virginia Economic Expectations Survey interviews and post-pandemic work models
Remote possibilities
Before the coronavirus pandemic, LaToya Jordan regularly missed small moments in her children’s lives — like seeing her young son getting off the bus each day. She commuted to downtown Richmond or to a client site and arrived home after her children. The state agency where she works allowed telecommuting one day a week, and […]