Is Foot Traffic in Commercial Facilities Declining Again?

Office visits began to decline in late spring following a start to 2025 that made it seem like workers could be making a gradual return.

Data from Commercial Property Executive shows foot traffic plummeted in May, just a month after a stellar April where office visits nationwide were up 4.8 percent year-over-year. So why a dip after a good May? Commercial Property Executive suggests one less workday (May 2025 had an additional Saturday) this year than in 2024 might have had an important impact on traffic numbers. Another thing that could have impacted traffic numbers is vacation time, as airports were busier on the Friday before Memorial Day 2025 than they had been on the that same Friday in 2025, according to proofpoint.

Commercial Property Executive also suggests the numbers from May point to the prevalence of remote and hybrid work, too. Such arrangements have been popular for years, which makes sense considering COVID-19. In major cities like New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta, office visits are down compared to 2019. (Dallas and Houston at least saw their office visits rise in comparison to 2024.)

While Commercial Property Executive's data is disheartening for cleaning operations, other outlets are reporting better news. Newsweek reports in-office attendance is slowly growing in the United States, though that growth is beginning to be less pronounced. A CEO of one HR consulting firm told Newsweek that companies are leaning more into a hybrid work schedule.

So what does the future hold for in-office work? It's maybe too early to say.