Perhaps no industry was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown as hard as the hotel and hospitality industry. But today the industry has rebounded, especially in the Lehigh Valley, with at least one hotel saying that changes brought about by the pandemic have actually helped the bottom line. 

Once again, the Hotel Bethlehem has been named as the no. 1 Historic Hotel in the nation in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards. 

For the fourth consecutive year, the Hotel Bethlehem has been named as a finalist on USA Today’s nominations for 10 Best Historic Hotels. 

The Historic Hotel Bethlehem is living up to its name. The Main Street Bethlehem hotel has been named as the No. 1 historic hotel in the country in the 2021 USA Today Readers Choice Awards.

The Hotel Bethlehem has a new executive chef: Rodney Rivera is taking over the post from Michael Adams, who has served as the hotel’s chef for the past seven years. Adams is leaving the Lehigh Valley.

The Main Street Bethlehem hotel ranked number two on the USA Today 10 Best 2020 Readers Choice Awards for “Best Historic Hotels.” This is the second time the hotel made the list. Last year, the Hotel Bethlehem made the list at number three.

May Augusta Yohe died in 1838, but many say she currently resides at the Hotel Bethlehem at 437 Main Street in Bethlehem.

Hotel managing partner Bruce Haines called the honor “the culmination of 20 years of a dedicated commitment to restoring the Hotel Bethlehem to the elegance and grandeur of its 1920s legacy.” 

The international law enforcement community suspects millions of people are taken and subjected to forced labor and sex in countries around the world, but the crime of human trafficking is hard to prosecute because it is so hidden and its victims so controlled by fear, separation and language barriers.