In a desperate plea for help, the hotel industry said it faces a default disaster, in which 25% of hotels are at risk of foreclosure.

The report, sent to Congress this week and compiled by Trepp, shows that the percentage of hotel loans 30 or more days delinquent is 23.4% as of last month — the highest percentage on record.

By comparison, the percentage of hotel loans that were 30 or more days delinquent at the end of 2019 was just 1.3%.

"With record low travel demand, thousands of hotels can't afford to pay their commercial mortgages and are facing foreclosure with the harsh reality of having to close their doors permanently," said Chip Rogers, CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, in a statement Tuesday. He added that "tens of thousands" of hotel employees and other jobs in the industry are at risk if federal aid isn't administered.

Covid-19 has suppressed demand for travel, evident in the recent string of miserable quarterly financial reports for hotel chains and airlines.

As a result, delinquency rates within the commercial mortgage-backed securities market are at an all-time high.

In total, $20.6 billion in hotel commercial mortgage-backed security loans were 30 or more days delinquent as of July. For comparison, the highest volume of delinquent hotel loans during the financial crisis more than decade ago was $13.5 billion.

CNN Business