Leisure Travel Comes Back First as Drive-To Rather than Fly-To: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust CEO
Photo Credit: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust operates 56 upscale hotels across the U.S., including the Liberty Hotel in Boston (pictured). Most of the company's hotels have closed due to coronavirus. Flickr / Ben W.
Skift Take
It's hard to expect a V-shaped rebound for the hotel industry, but improvements to coronavirus testing could accelerate the L-shaped recovery, anticipates Jon Bortz, the CEO of a large hotel ownership group.
As the chief executive of one of the largest U.S. hotel ownership groups, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust CEO Jon Bortz has felt the dire coronavirus impact on travel demand. Pebblebrook has temporarily closed 46 of its 54 upscale hotels across the U.S., and its operators have furloughed most of the roughly 8,000 employees across Pebblebrook's entire hotel portfolio.
Bortz went to the White House in March with a group of hotel executives that included Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson and Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian to appeal to the Trump administration for a $150 billion bailout for the industry while a stimulus bill was being drafted. While the resulting $2 trillion relief package will help hoteliers and their employees, Bortz thinks more is needed to navigate through a recovery he expects will take longer than initial forecasts predicted.
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Bortz was at the center of
