Marriott’s China Comeback Pushes Company Closer to Profitability
Photo Credit: Leisure and business travel occupancies outperformed pre-pandemic levels in March in China, Marriott reported Monday. Wikimedia / Livelikerw
Skift Take
Marriott's bigger portfolio in greater China than its competitors delivered the company somewhat of a financial win. But don't expect everything to return to normal on the rebound: Marriott learned how to run hotels with fewer employees during the crisis, and that's likely to be the new status quo.
Marriott reported Monday one of the strongest financial performances by a major hotel company last quarter, and it largely comes down to the company’s nearly full recovery in China.
While mainland China dealt with a winter surge of new cases and lockdowns early in the first quarter, the region quickly rebounded once those restrictions were lifted. Marriott reported occupancy for its Mainland China portfolio averaged 66 percent in March, roughly back to pre-pandemic levels.
The rebound in China coupled with accelerating vaccine distribution in the U.S. drove the company to an $11 million first quarter loss — a financial win given Marriott’s competitors like Hilton and Hyatt still posted more than $100 million losses each.
“Seeing these trends in Mainland China running near pre-pandemic levels gives us confidence in strong full recoveries across all customer segments in other regions as conditions improve,” Marriott CEO Tony Capuano said on a Monday investor call.
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