See-Saw Battle Continues Between Omicron and Hospitality, Travel Industries

In recent weeks, hotel performance in the United States and China has increased, while demand for European hotels has decreased. Hoteliers in the United States and China should not do a victory lap.

According to recent STR data, hotel occupancy in Europe is down 40% from two years ago. U.S. lodges revenues, boosted by the end of the vacation season and New Year’s Eve, have increased by more than 27%. The Omicron surge, on the other hand, had a more noticeable effect on the hotel occupancies in many major European cities.

While U.S. hotels may have performed significantly better than European counterparts, occupancy was lower in certain sectors. According to latest STR study, luxury lodge occupancy was at 69 percent compared to 83 percent in 2019, although the sector performed nearly 16 percent better because of hotels charging higher rates during the restoration.

“Relative to 2019 there was stronger occupancy in lower-rated lodges and weaker occupancy in higher-rated lodges,” Truist Securities analysts famous of their most up-to-date lodge knowledge report. “We interpret the disconnect as a mixture of Omicron demand impression, flight cancellations, and fewer actions/sights open in massive cities around New Year.”

There are some positive forecasts which indicate that if any major impact happens on hotels from Omicron occurs, it is more likely to fade in a matter of weeks rather than months.

While Omicron may have handed another blow to hotels in major cities around the world that rely heavily on corporate travel and international visitors, experts are nevertheless rallying around the thought that 2022 will be a good year for the hotel and travel businesses.