Neal Jones, chief sales and marketing officer at Marriott, reveals the impact the Covid pandemic had on the hotel group and how it is rising to the challenge to overcome the hurdles it faces
The pandemic was undoubtedly the biggest challenge that has ever impacted our company, and the travel industry as a whole. In fact, at the height of the pandemic in April 2020, we had over 70% of our hotels closed and the financial impact to our business was more severe and sustained than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis, combined.
From the first warning signs of this unprecedented event, we took a number of steps to adapt and strengthen the business including reducing costs significantly and improving liquidity. We were forced to make some tough decisions, but we had to protect our business for the long term. Looking back now at those early weeks of the pandemic, it’s hard to comprehend that our business was in such a different position to where we are today.
While we knew there would be significant pent-up demand for travel post the pandemic, it has been heartwarming to see how quickly travellers have returned to our hotels. In early August, we announced our Q2 earnings, which were driven by robust demand for our brands around the world. By June, RevPAR in all regions outside of Asia Pacific had more than fully recovered to pre‐pandemic levels, leading to June global RevPAR 1% above 2019 levels. Worldwide occupancy for the month rose to 71%, just 5% points below pre‐pandemic levels, with global ADR an impressive 8% over the same month in 2019.
With borders open in Europe, the room nights from international guests more than doubled in the region from Q1 to Q2 and with this strong return of international travel, Europe has experienced the swiftest RevPAR recovery of all our regions this year. Furthermore, while leisure travel has without doubt driven the recovery so far, we are also seeing group and business transient demand return, albeit at a more moderate pace.
It’s clear that the global pandemic not only shifted travellers’ expectations, but it fundamentally changed human attitudes and behaviours at a speed we’ve never seen before. All organisations, including ours, had to adapt and respond quickly and that has helped ensure we are more agile as we move into this new world of travel.
Retaining and gaining customer loyalty is even more important now than it ever has been. Today, we’re using the power of Marriott Bonvoy to deepen engagement with our 169 million members. Marriott Bonvoy members not only receive free Wi-Fi, mobile check-in and the lowest member rates, but they can earn and redeem points across our portfolio of 30 hotel brands including St. Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, Westin and W Hotels, as well as our premium home rental offering, Homes & Villas by Marriott International.
Marriott is also very engaged in leveraging technology to deliver personalised travel experiences before, during and after the stay, to engage with our guests wherever they are in the way that is easiest and preferred by them – whether that is through an app, messaging, the call centre or via new digital technology such as Zoom. Furthermore, it’s now easier than ever for our customers to book online with 12 new language sites, including Turkish, Polish and the newly launched Hebrew sites.
The last three years have been a roller-coaster for the travel and hospitality industry, but the speed of the recovery illustrates a societal shift towards spending on experiences as opposed to goods. While we are closely monitoring consumer and macroeconomic trends, we remain very optimistic for the future of travel.