Hyatt Notches a Coronavirus Rarity — Sold-Out Hotels
Photo Credit: Early travel rebound, including sold out hotels, in China guides Hyatt's expectations for its properties around the world. Flickr / Elliott Brown
Skift Take
Hopeful signs are emerging for Hyatt in the second half of 2020, but it has to differentiate itself from competitors looking to pounce on those same limited opportunities.
Hyatt leadership is watching select Asian markets navigate the early phase of coronavirus recovery to gauge how the rest of the world will return to some degree of operational normalcy.
A third of Hyatt’s hotels around the world have suspended operations due to declines in occupancy and travel demand during the coronavirus pandemic. But China and South Korea are showing signs of improvement. Short-term transient business bookings recently doubled in South Korea, and only one Chinese Hyatt property remains temporarily closed, down from 26. Last weekend was China’s first major holiday since the crisis, and several properties were sold out. The traveler profile enables Hyatt to provide some degree of a rebound forecast for the rest of the world.
“The fact that you can even have a hotel sell out at this point is a pretty notable thing to begin with. Yes, the hotels in highest demand are those with very significant drive-to marketplace,” Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said Thursda
