If you're looking to book a last-minute hotel stay during the COVID-19 pandemic, you're not alone. A majority of Hyatt customers have been booking stays only several days in advance.
In the U.S., more than 65% of full-service hotel bookings and more than 75% of budget hotel bookings were made only four days in advance during the month of June, CEO Mark Hoplamazian said on the company's second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. He referred to it as the shortest transient (referring to a quick hotel stay) booking window the company has ever seen.
Leisure travelers have been the strongest driver of occupancy increases around the world for Hyatt over the past 13 weeks. A common refrain from the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic has been that leisure travel, especially where guests can drive to destinations instead of fly, would pick up quicker than other sectors, including business and event travel.
That said, growth rate and traveler demand slowed in the middle of July following the July Fourth holiday and as case counts rose in certain areas and cross-border travel restrictions remained in place.
A surge in COVID-19 cases affected travel, which Hoplamazian said was pretty obvious. "Given the booking windows ... the impact is instantaneous," he said.
Though momentum increased in the latter half of July, "until meaningful and consistent progress is made toward slowing the spread of the virus, international travel in particular will continue to be negatively impacted," Hoplamazian added.
Hoplamazian said the company reached its peak of hotel closures in April, with approximately 35% of its hotels globally shut down.
Hyatt has taken an analytical approach to reopening hotels in each market, based on a combination of data from the Transportation Security Administration and airlines, search and mobility factors and hotel bookings. At the end of June, 80% of its hotels were open, with 87% open as of the end of July. Hyatt plans to reopen most of the remaining hotels in the next couple of months.
Occupancy rates in the Americas were down significantly in the quarter compared to 2019. Full-service hotels had 5.2% occupancy, down 74% from 2019; limited-service hotels saw 21.6% occupancy, down 57.7% from last year. Hyatt CFO Joan Bottarini said the company expects its second-quarter occupancy levels to improve as travel restrictions are lifted and demand continues to increase.
In the U.S. and Canada, guests are required to wear masks in indoor public areas.
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The company has also been in the process of reimagining its food and beverage experiences, well-being and fitness practices and events across hotels amid the coronavirus pandemic, such as yoga class on the roof instead of sweating it out with others in a crowded fitness room, which Hoplamazian referenced on the earnings call.
"We're trying to repurpose as many spaces and places as possible," Hoplamazian told USA TODAY in an interview in June.
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August 05, 2020 at 01:38AM
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Last-minute trips? Hotel guests booking only days in advance as COVID-19 pandemic continues, Hyatt CEO says - USA TODAY
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