The travel industry will survive COVID-19, but with big changes
Mark Hoplamazian is the CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which operates more than 900 hotels and resorts across the world. We're now at a point where virtually all of our hotels in China are reopened. And we've seen steady increases in demand. Before this recent outbreak in Beijing, more than 50% of our hotels in China were running at 50% or better occupancies. That confidence comes from the extensive contact tracing environment that they've got there. Bookings [elsewhere] are starting to recover, the United States first and then Europe. Right now, it is leisure travel. Business travel will take some time to return. I've talked with a lot of CEOs, especially those of our largest customers, and they are looking at ways in which they can create a more hybrid [work] experience for their colleagues. Right now, they're focused on remote working. But I think it's really early for people to be making declarations about what life will be like, post-COVID and two years from now.
