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Americans will stay home this election season, says Marriott
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Americans will stay home this election season, says Marriott

Key takeaways

  • Marriott International said revenue per available room is expected to fall 3% in November, double the decline seen in previous elections.
  • Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Oberg said the hotel group had “significantly lower” bookings.
  • Other hotel companies said demand tends to calm down on Election Day.

The Harris-Biden clash is turning Americans into homebodies, according to a hotel chain.

Marriott International (MAR) Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Oberg said the election reduced demand to a greater extent than previous election cycles. Marriott has “significantly lower” bookings for this week and next, Oberg said Monday during an earnings call Monday.

“The election impact on the US and Canada (revenue per available room) is expected to be around negative 300 basis points in November and negative 100 basis points for the quarter, double that of cycles previous elections,” Oberg said on the call, a transcript. of which was made available by AlphaSense. (A base point is one hundredth of a percentage point.)

Marriott on Monday reported third-quarter profit of $584 million, up from $752 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share were $2.07, up from $2.51 a year earlier, the company said. The hotelier’s global revenue per available room, which rose 3% year over year in the third quarter, is expected to stabilize in the fourth, CEO Anthony Capuano said.

Other travel and hospitality companies said demand was down in the run-up to the presidential election, as Americans vote and await results in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“What happens during national elections is that people tend to stay at home,” says Avis Budget Group (CAR) said President and CEO Joseph Ferraro during his company’s conference call Monday.