By Priyamvada C
(Reuters) -Marriott International Inc said on Tuesday it expects an over 30% rise in its 2023 revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key measure for a hotel’s top-line performance, in China from a year ago after strict COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Shares of the company were up about 3% in afternoon trade.
Hotel operators were affected by uneven recovery in China as a rise in infections led to indefinite lockdowns, which in turn extended the construction timelines of some luxury properties and impeded travel to the world’s second largest economy.
Marriott, however, in January saw a surge in demand from the region during the Chinese New Year holiday, as it benefited from new open border policies and the lifting of quarantine requirements.
“We saw tremendous leisure demand associated with the Chinese New Year, but we are really pleased with the overall pace of demand that we’re seeing there,” Marriott’s finance chief Kathleen Oberg said in a conference call with…
