Analysts expect a wider rollout of coronavirus vaccines later this year to first aid a rebound in leisure travel, leaving business-travel-reliant hotel chains, including Marriott and smaller rival Hilton Worldwide, struggling for longer.
Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott estimated that the pace of bookings at its group business — which make up about 20 percent of its annual bookings — would drop by 57 percent this year compared with an already poor 2020.
But mass vaccinations are expected to slow the decline to between 25 and 30 percent in the second half of 2021, it said.
Marriott’s results come days after the death of its chief executive, Arne Sorenson. The company is expected to announce a new CEO in the next two weeks.
Its…