Hilton’s CEO yesterday afternoon said they plan to close most of their hotels in major US cities and that global occupancy rates could fall to 10% to 15%. All the hotel operators are trading down dramatically today including HLT down 17%, MAR down 21%, CHH down 14%, and Hyatt down 14%. Executives from major hotel and casino companies met with President Trump yesterday as the hospitality industry is seeking $150B in emergency funding with most of that to cover lost wages for employees.
As of now, hoteliers say they are expecting a quick rebound. A new survey from the Lodging Industry Investment Council (the hotel industry’s preeminent think tank) released yesterday highlights that many expect a quick bounce back later in the year after the impact from the coronavirus pandemic settles. The LIIC survey shows 27% expect a full recovery in six months, while 48% anticipate “full normalization within six months to a year” and 75% expecting that within a year. 43% of LIIC anticipates issues with the Federal Government and/or State Governments potentially commandeering hotels for use in housing virus inflicted patients or other related purposes.
Sarah
Hilton CEO Tells Trump Most Hotels in Major Cities Will Close
2020-03-17 19:10:05.381 GMT
By Patrick Clark and Mario Parker
(Bloomberg) — Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. plans to
close most of its hotels in major U.S. cities, Chief Executive
Officer Christopher Nassetta said at a meeting with President
Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
Nassetta, whose company has already begun to temporarily
shutter namesake properties in New York and Washington, said
occupancy rates could fall to 10% globally as world governments
seek to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The outbreak has hit the industry in a “devastating way,”
Nassetta said, adding that occupancy rates in major U.S. cities
were “running in the single digits.”
“Hilton’s been around 100 years — we’ve never closed a
hotel that wasn’t going to be demolished or rebuilding,” he
said. “The bulk of our hotels in the major cities are closing as
we speak.”
The remarks came as hospitality executives traveled to the
White House to seek support for an industry facing a global
shutdown in the months to come.
$HLT.US
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