In principle, a huge boost to travel came earlier this week when the US withdrew the requirement for visitors flying in from abroad to be tested for coronavirus.
Various travel organisations have lobbied against the thorny issue in recent months, as many countries around the world have abandoned the practise, despite the fact that the United States has a larger daily average count of reported instances.
Removing the testing requirement minimises the risk of becoming trapped in a foreign nation — as some of our own have experienced — and could enhance demand for travel to the United States, according to the theory.
It should especially assist some of the country's major cities, which rely on international visitors to fill hotel rooms.
Following the decision to abolish US testing requirements, United Airlines reported a 7% increase in overseas travel searches.
It's too early to tell if hotels benefited right away, and many companies won't release definitive figures until the second quarter ends at the end of this month.
However, the sector remains optimistic about the possibility of increased international passenger demand.
"The removal of [COVID-19] testing requirements for entry into the United States is another critical stage in the tourism industry's pandemic recovery," said Jack Horne, Hyatt's global head of sales and revenue.
"Summer 2022 is shaping up to be one of Hyatt's busiest travel seasons yet, with momentum across the board."
Leisure demand at Hyatt facilities in the Americas is still much ahead of last year's levels, while groups, events, and business travel are all on the rise."
Analysts predict the travel sector to take a hit as consumers strive to cut expenses on everything from gas to airfare to hotel rooms due to rising costs on everything from gas to airfare to hotel rooms.
However, during the NYU Hospitality conference earlier this month, the CEOs of hotel firms such as Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton all discounted such speculation.
Their concentration on higher-end goods, as well as the emergence of new demand drivers such as group, business, and increasingly foreign travel, should help to counterbalance any slump.
At least, that's the hope of the executives.
"With this new testing announcement, we anticipate an increase in demand in the coming weeks," Horne said. "As always, we will work with Hyatt hotel owners, operators, and colleagues throughout the world to ensure the health and safety of Hyatt guests and staff."
"This summer, we're looking forward to ushering in this new era of travel and welcoming back even more people from around the world."
There are no silver bullets.
The elimination of testing requirements has made no difference in one key source of inbound travel to the United States: China, which was the fastest-growing source of international visitors to the United States prior to the pandemic, according to data from the United States Travel Association on the top 20 inbound markets.
At the very least, it removes a barrier for American guests who want to travel overseas, which may benefit international hotels more than those in the United States.
"Perhaps this is just what American tourists needed to get on a plane and vacation abroad," Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics for STR's parent firm CoStar, said.
"The negative impact could be felt in places like Miami Beach, where accommodation rates have skyrocketed at the high end...
Customers may not be as enthusiastic as they once were because they are saying, 'Oh, I can finally go back to Venice.'"
Spring and summer are the busiest seasons.
Even before peak summer travel demand heats up in the coming months, hotel businesses around the world have a lot to be happy about.
According to data released Thursday by travel software supplier Amadeus' Demand360 platform, global hotel reservations have been consistent with pre-pandemic levels since March of this year.
Hotel occupancy exceeded 2019 levels for the first time during the pandemic in April, and the trend continued last month, with global hotel occupancy averaging 63 percent compared to 60 percent in May 2019.
Keep in mind that this feat occurred amid a new wave of travel restrictions in China as a result of a spike in coronavirus cases in Beijing and Shanghai.
However, countries like the United States (the world's largest hotel market) and Canada managed to outperform pre-pandemic levels.
In May, hotel occupancy in the United States was 68 percent, up 7% from the previous year, while hotel occupancy in Canada at 64 percent, up 8% from the previous year.
In a statement, Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, president of hospitality at Amadeus, stated, "It is amazing to see the resurrection of travel that is happening."
It's also too early to say how much other variables, like as the US eliminating its testing requirement, would boost hotel demand this summer.
However, analysts are encouraged by the fact that forward-looking booking data already reveals summer months hotel reservations are only 1% below 2019 levels.
This doesn't rule out the possibility of a springtime outperformance of pre-pandemic occupancy levels.
Booking windows, or the amount of days travellers have to plan a trip ahead of time, are still shorter than usual.
More than half of all trips are still booked within a week of departure, implying that hotel occupancy rates could skyrocket in the coming three months.
In an interview with Katie Moro, vice president of data partnerships and hospitality at Amadeus, said, "What we're telling hotels is the demand is there."
"We advise them to take advantage of the short booking [period] and ensure that they're pricing appropriately for the demand that's coming into the market."
It will come as no surprise to anyone that hotel rates are high right now, and this isn't restricted to the United States.
According to Amadeus, the global average hotel rate will rise from a low of $83 per night in April 2020 to a high of $200 per night throughout the summer, up from $180 per night in the same three months of 2019.
Things are more expensive in France, where average nightly rates are predicted to soar to $428 in July, a 29 percent hike over 2019 levels.
It's unclear how much of an influence rebounding travel demand sectors will have on hotel occupancy rates, but it's apparent that high room prices and airfare are a given for summer travel.
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