While the coronavirus pandemic continues to hamper travel, the hotel industry is beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, with Marriott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson recently projecting a quick rebound.
The hotel giant released its third quarter 2020 earnings report on Friday, revealing that operating income totaled $252 million during the three-month period which ended September 30 compared to $607 million during the same period last year. Meanwhile, Marriott's reported net income for Q3 totaled $100 million compared to $387 million during the third quarter of 2019.
Although the business has taken a significant hit due to travel restrictions and low demand, Marriott saw signs of improvement. Third quarter 2020 comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR (revenue per available room) declined 65.9 percent worldwide, including 65.4 percent in North America compared to the same period last year.
However, those figures are markedly better compared to the previous quarter when RevPAR declined 84.4 percent worldwide and 83.6 percent in North America by comparison to the second quarter of 2019.
"While COVID-19 is still significantly impacting our business, our results for the third quarter showed continued improvement in demand trends around the world," Sorenson said in a statement accompanying Friday's release.
"Third quarter occupancy at our hotels in North America reached 37 percent, nearly double occupancy in the second quarter, primarily driven by leisure, drive-to demand, with business and group recovering more slowly. Globally, 94 percent of our hotels are now open and welcoming guests," he added.
"Although the timing of a full recovery remains unpredictable, we are pleased with the significant progress we have made in restructuring and repositioning the company to successfully manage through these challenging times," Sorenson concluded. "We still have a long road ahead, but this crisis will come to an end, and I believe travel will rebound quickly."
Sorenson's encouraging comments come just two days after Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta said his company saw "meaningful improvement over the second quarter."
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