HOSPITALITY's COMEBACK FROM PANDEMIC
US & European Regional Travel on the Rise Source: Cape Cod Summer Tourist Destination Marriott CEO's Global Hotel Perspective The pandemic was particularly inhospitable to the global hospitality industry. As Covid-19 cases soared, air travel ground to a halt, lockdowns forced people to shelter at home and bookings at global hotel chains plummeted. At Marriott, room occupancy rates dropped to 5% in some US hotel properties and to 7% in Marriott hotels in China. The rates have rebounded in China to 40% and in the US to 20%. CEO Arne Sorenson says he's starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel for global hotels: a pickup in personal and business travel. Profound Economic Impact Sorenson says the impact of the pandemic on Marriott's global business is worse than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined. He doesn't expect global occupancy to return to the average of 71% for a few years. But there are positive signs....