Big travel company CEOs hope market turmoil won’t derail summer rebound
As economic pundits raise fears about a recession, the most powerful names in travel and hospitality are pushing back, pointing to bookings that illustrate a positive picture of the American consumer.
“We think this summer is going to be gangbusters for travel,” Marriott CEO Tony Capuano told last week.
Marriott saw an 81% rise in first quarter revenue compared to the same quarter a year ago as more leisure and business travelers got back on the road as Covid restrictions eased.
Despite concerns around inflation, Expedia CEO Peter Kern said he does not see travelers cancelling plans because there’s so much pent up demand following the pandemic.
That demand has driven the average daily rate at U.S. hotels up 40% compared to a year ago, according to hospitality analytics firm Smith Travel Research.
“We haven’t seen any signs of consumers being impacted in terms of travel spend. We all know there were pent up savings and underspend during…