Marriott CEO Tony Capuano — himself now fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and traveling for business again — is bracing for a summer travel boom as people venture back out after getting their shots.
"We are seeing a really strong rebound in demand in our biggest markets," Capuano said on Yahoo Finance Live. "In March, we saw a stronger demand recovery month-over-month than we have seen in any other month since the pandemic began. And in markets like China, we are seeing demand levels that are actually well above pre-pandemic. And the really exciting thing about that for us, it's not just leisure. In fact in March, we saw business travel in China 5% above where it was in March of 2019."
Capuano's upbeat reads on the business come in the wake of a challenging first quarter as the pandemic continued to weigh on travel demand globally. First quarter worldwide revenue per available room (RevPar) fell 50.3% from a year ago. Worldwide occupancy clocked in at 32.1%, down from 50.3% a year earlier.
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 24: A logo of Marriott, the world's largest hotel chain, is pictured outside its hotel on June 24, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photo by Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images)
The first quarter showed the varying pace in the recovery from the pandemic globally.