Marriott CEO: We are seeing a really strong rebound in leisure and business travel

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor
2 min read
5
In this article:

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 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) (Yuriko Nakao via Getty Images)

The first quarter showed the varying pace in the recovery from the pandemic globally.

Marriott's revenue per available room in Greater China surged 80.4% from last as the country led the world into the pandemic and is now coming out of it first. Meanwhile, RevPar in Europe fell 80.4% as the country struggles through its vaccination efforts.

Here is how Marriott performed compared to Wall Street estimates for the first quarter:

  • Net Sales: $2.32 billion vs. $2.37 billion

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $296 million vs. $308.7 million

  • Adjusted EPS: $0.10 vs. $0.03

Marriott shares fell 3% in Monday trading as investors digested the mixed quarter, positive comments from management and the company refraining from releasing full-year guidance. The company said it has 2,800 hotels in its development pipeline, or the equivalent of 491,000 rooms.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

What’s hot from Sozzi:

Watch Yahoo Finance’s live programming on Verizon FIOS channel 604, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Pluto TV, and YouTube. Online catch Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, and LinkedIn.

Advertisement