Marriott CEO: China hotels all reopened, sees steady U.S. recovery

On Monday, Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson stated that Marriott International (MAR.O) has resumed all its hotel operations in China and is seeing a sustained recovery in its biggest market, the United States.

After Sorenson’s statement, Marriott International’s shares went up to 8.1% to $95.64 in the afternoon trading.

Occupancy rates in China have risen from as low as 7% in February to approximately 40% in May due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s not just leisure travel growing, but it is business travel. Chinese are flying again. The (U.S.) hotels that are performing strongest are those that are most dependent on the drive to the business.” Sorenson said at the Goldman Sachs’s (GS) travel conference.

However, Sorenson warned that it could take a few years to get back Marriott International’s 2019 global occupancy rate of 71%.