Hotels in US now half full with recovery on the horizon
‘It’s like we’re a sailing boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The good news is the breeze is blowing in the right direction’
After the hotel industry’s worst year on record, a long-awaited recovery is finally approaching. Occupancy rates at US hotels reached 52% last week, the highest since lockdowns began, according to lodging-data provider STR. Shares of lodging companies are surging on the prospect that a rebound is at hand, while companies such as Blackstone are making high-profile deals in the industry.
Investors are betting that the combination of vaccines and stimulus cheques will unleash a travel boom as Americans bust out of their houses to make up for lost vacations. Airline stocks rallied this week as executives said bookings are improving. Hotel owners who’ve confronted months of closures and mass layoffs are now preparing for the prospect of a surge in demand, even as much of the expected rebound remains a ways off...
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