Global Hotel Occupancy Rates Leveling Off

New York, NY, May 12, 2020-Hotels are slowly starting to reopen and global occupancy rates are leveling off, Marriott International Inc. chief executive Arne Sorenson reported to the Wall Street Journal.

“‘April seems to have defined the bottom, and when we look at the last couple of weeks, there have not been significant movements in the number of closed hotels, but most days we’re seeing one or two or three more hotels reopen than we are seeing hotels closed,’ Mr. Sorenson said on a call with investors Monday.

“About one-quarter of Marriott’s roughly 7,200 properties remain closed, it said.

“Travel demand has improved in Greater China, with hotel occupancy in the region reaching 25% in April, up from less than 10% in mid-February, Mr. Sorenson said.

“‘Looking at our occupancy and booking trends, it appears that lodging demand in most of the rest of the world has stabilized, albeit at very low levels,’ Mr. Sorenson said.

“In the past two weeks, occupancy in North America stood at around 20% at limited-service hotels, with the help of leisure and drive-to demand, Mr. Sorenson said.”