HotelsMag July/August 2023 | Page 9

The CEO panel , from left : Moderator and CNBC personality Sara Eisen ; Keith Barr , the outgoing CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts ; Sébastien Bazin , chairman and CEO of Accor ; Tony Capuano , president and CEO of Marriott International ; Leslie Hale , CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust ; Mark Hoplamazian , CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corp .; Chris Nassetta , CEO of Hilton .
Corp ., who noted that though rates might seem “ crazy ,” over an eight-year span and compound growth rate , “ it ’ s not that high .”
ON TAP The hotel industry is in a cozy position , but will it last ?
“ We have been living in a COVID bizarro world ,” admitted Nassetta , in what he referred to as a reversion to the mean , especially with regard to how the Federal Reserve is handling the economy . “ Demand patterns will normalize by the end of the year ,” he said . “ It will look pre-COVID .”
Hoplamazian predicted strong demand patterns going forward , but not the same across the entire travel spectrum . He alluded to families with total household income above $ 100,000 expected to spend
WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A COVID BIZARRO WORLD . DEMAND PATTERNS WILL NORMALIZE BY THE END OF THE YEAR . IT WILL LOOK PRE-COVID
– CHRIS NASSETTA , CEO , HILTON
10 % or more on summer travel this year . Income levels below that were less . “ If there is a recession , we will start to see some segmentation of who is out on the road .”
One of the unknowns that should become less nebulous as the year carries forward is China . A bright spot in the early days of COVID , its zero-COVID policy quickly reversed course , shutting the country of
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