Hope for hotels as North and Latin Americans plan holidays

Travelers are hitting the road again and taking vacations even as the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of abating in many countries, a recent survey showed.

About 51 percent of people in North and Latin America plan to book trips in the next six months. This compares with 38 percent in Asia and Europe, according to the survey by software maker Oracle Corp.

However, travelers want to stay close to home, preferring to drive and avoid international trips.

Due to travel restrictions and lengthy lockdowns in many countries to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, tens of thousands of hotels have closed. Occupancy levels have fallen below 20 percent for weeks, said Alex Alt, general manager of Oracle Hospitality.

"One thing that's refreshing is that consumers want to travel," he told Reuters."There is a resilience and an appetite to be on the road, to explore, to experience."

With US coastal towns a favorite destination, occupancy among 600 US hotels that Oracle tracks has risen for five straight weeks. It recently hit its highest levels since mid-March.

"I'd say the industry largely expects it to continue through the summer months," Alt said. "The key will be for the business travelers to come back to complement that leisure travel."

COVID-19 cases have surged around the United States and the death toll has passed 138,000, prompting the European Union last week to exclude Americans travelers from its "safe" travel list.

To assuage concerns about infections, 90 percent of hotels have increased or planned to increase cleaning and disinfecting.

In addition, 70 percent of hotels are using or are planning to adopt contactless technology for check-in, food ordering and concierge services, according to the survey.

Oracle surveyed 4,600 consumers and 1,800 hotel executives in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore and Australia between mid-April and early May.

Reuters