Speaking on CNBC’s Closing Bell, the chief executive officer addressed Marriott’s forward bookings for summer 2022 in Europe, travel restrictions in the States, and rising room prices.

The forward bookings look extraordinary.

This is how Anthony Capuano summed up the group’s expected performance for the 2022 summer holidays across the board, with the exception of Greater China. When compared to the same period in 2019, he reported an increase of 50% in the European market over the last couple of weeks.

Regarding mandatory Covid-19 testing for entry into the United States from abroad, Mr Capuano stated that he has met with Gina Raimondo, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, to discuss the tourism market. He welcomed the recent tourism strategy announced by the Secretary, for which the goal is to attract 90 million international visitors over the course of the next five years. When asked whether he believes this testing is impacting on travellers’ decision to come to the country, he shared his belief that for experienced travellers it is just seen as another necessary step, but for more causal travellers it is probably something that gives them pause.

The recent spike in the cost of living was also on Closing Bell’s agenda. The Marriott CEO announced a RevPAR increase of roughly 25% over the recent Memorial Day Weekend (28-30 May 2022), in comparison to 2019. A recovery being led principally by the group’s luxury portfolio. “As long as we are delivering on service, we continue to see really remarkable pricing power,” he explained, before adding that he has not seen clients pushing back against these higher prices. To finish, Mr Capuano stated that leisure and coastal destinations, in particular, have displayed “exceedingly strong rate potential”.

See the full video here.