Mirroring Marriott International's and Hilton Worldwide's
preliminary first-quarter results, Hyatt Hotels expects systemwide March
revenue per available room to decline 66.6 per cent year over year, according
to a Tuesday company filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
RevPAR for the quarter ending 31 March is expected to be
down 28.1 per cent. The results are preliminary and could change by the time
Hyatt holds its first-quarter earnings call, scheduled for 7 May.
Prior to the global coronavirus outbreak, the company in
February saw RevPAR increase 1.6 per cent year over year, excluding results
from Asia Pacific, where the first Covid-19 cases appeared in December.
Systemwide results have worsened in the first half of April, and the company
expects a material decrease in RevPAR for the second quarter of 2020.
Systemwide occupancy rates as of 15 April were averaging
about 15 per cent for operating hotels. Approximately 35 per cent of Hyatt's
properties globally were closed as of that date. Occupancy levels in Greater
China have shown gradual improvements in recent weeks, with April occupancy
approaching 20 per cent through 15 April as quarantines and travel restrictions
have been lifted. Currently four hotels remain closed in Greater China,
compared with 26 during the peak of the crisis in the region in February. The
increase in demand is reported to be driven by leisure travel.
Hyatt also reported that group business has experienced
limited cancellations for dates in the second half of 2020, with practically no
cancellations in 2021 and beyond. Some near-term group business has been
rebooked into the latter part of 2020 or early 2021. Booking volumes, however,
have decreased in the last several weeks.
The company pulled its 2020 guidance in early March.