Marriott Reports Jump in Lodging Demand as Tourism Recovers

Marriott International’s sales more than doubled in the second quarter from a year ago, the latest sign of the recovery in the hospitality industry.

Revenue rose to $3.15 billion in the three months through June, the company said on Tuesday, from $1.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. The lodging giant reported profit of $422 million, compared with a $234 million loss in the same period last year.

The company said that rebound had continued since June, with increasing vaccination rates and easing travel restrictions helping raise occupancy. Global occupancy grew to 51 percent in the second quarter.

“The rate of global lodging recovery accelerated during the second quarter and momentum has continued into July,” Anthony Capuano, Marriott’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The company is seeing pent-up demand from small and midsize groups, as well as social groups that have put off having events for the year, but bookings from large citywide events are still lagging.

Though domestic leisure travel is recovering, that rebound is threatened by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. The Biden administration will continue to restrict the entry of Europeans and others into the United States, citing concerns that infected travelers may contribute to further spread of the contagious variant across the country.

“While we are keeping a close eye on the Delta and other variant strains, we are optimistic that the upward trajectory of the global recovery will continue,” Mr. Capuano said in the statement. “Timelines are hard to predict and will continue to vary by region, but I believe that we are on our way to a full global recovery.”

The company said business bookings had also stepped up, although other measures of business travel show it has been slower to recover. Just 9 percent of companies say they have resumed their pre-pandemic travel levels, according to a recent survey by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

But travelers are combining their business and leisure travel, the company said.

“This blending of trip purposes continues to be a real and measurable phenomenon and we think it’s good for our business,” Mr. Capuano said Tuesday on an earnings call with analysts. “We think it will continue well beyond the end of the pandemic.”