Hotel CEO’s See Enhanced Role for Travel Advisors

Chief executives of major hotel companies speaking on a virtual panel see an enhanced role for travel advisors as the industry navigates its way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing on the NYU International Hospitality Investment Conference “CEO’s Check-In” panel, Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, said “it comes down to trust.” He said the relationship of travel advisors with their clients is “remarkable,” extending to their personal preferences and that will be very helpful in any recovery. The NYU conference is usually held during the first week of June and is now scheduled for the fall.

Hoplamazian said that going forward, the entire travel journey will be in focus—from the time travelers leave the front door. “And that’s what travel advisors do,” said Hoplamazian, “guide their clients through every step.”
Christopher Nassetta, CEO of Hilton, said there will be a “huge role” for travel advisors. He said they will play a key part in helping the industry rebuild confidence in traveling and in feeling safe and secure. He said all travel segments should work with advisors “to help the industry.”

Otherwise, executives saw challenges and positives in the outlook for hospitality. Jonathan Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels and chairman of the conference, said that “until recently, hotels never closed.” He said that moving forward, “we need safety guidelines, liability protection and ways to stimulate demand.” Even with all that, he said he expects the recovery to be slow.

Nassetta said “it’s easy to get mired in the moment, but what goes down will come back.“ He said it’s important at this time to “keep a steady hand on the wheel and communicate as much as possible so we have transparency.”

There are hopeful signs. David Kong, CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, said that one of his hotels in Seaside, Oregon opened for Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed 100 percent occupancy, better than the previous year. He said travel will be dominated by road trips with open-air destinations such as beaches and parks getting the lion’s share. Kong said business travel will be far more of a challenge and, “unless there’s a vaccine, big conventions will take years to recover.”

Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), said one of the company’s Six Senses resorts in Vietnam has reopened and has seen 80 percent occupancies—all domestic travel at this point. He also said that many U.S. hotels are seeing strong occupancy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, showing that “there is still a lot of business travel as people feel comfortable driving from city to city.”

Nassetta said Hilton bottomed out as far as occupancy at about 13 percent and is now running 25-30 percent—compared with 75 percent for 2019. He said travel would grow in concentric circles around individual locations “as people come out of their bunkers.” He said the concentric circles will get wider over the next few months.

In fact, said Hoplamazian, those circles are already getting wider. He noted that resorts in Arizona were drawing people from Texas, California and Colorado; and Florida is drawing guests from multiple states. He said the industry should learn from markets like China and South Korea as to how to deal with reopening.

Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group, said the industry should not overreact for the long-term based on what’s happening today. He said “let’s do what we need to do in the short term and see how it goes.” He said that in two years, the industry will look much like it did before the pandemic started. Barr noted that all hotel companies continue to sign new development projects—and are even opening hotels.

Looking abroad, Sébastien Bazin, CEO of AccorHotels, said his company has started marketing to loyalty members to get back on the road as the European Union clarifies reopening and travel rules. That will depend on countries within Europe opening borders to one another, he said, and the biggest remaining question mark is the U.K. “The notable exception is disagreement between Boris Johnson and the EU,” he said, noting he believes it’s “unlikely” the U.K. will join Europe’s push to reopen on 15 June. He also said the continent is poised for strong leisure demand due to its culture of train travel, which supplements drive-to business.

The current civil unrest was mentioned by several CEOs. Hoplamazian said “we have to acknowledge the suffering in the world” and “we have to recognize the outpouring of grief after the death of George Floyd.” The industry has to recognize, said Hoplamazian “that we live in the broader community.”

Tisch said conference organizers are looking forward to holding the full event in person in New York on November 11-12.