Marriott withdraws 2020 outlook as cancellations mount due to coronavirus

(Reuters) – U.S. hotel operator Marriott International Inc said on Wednesday it was withdrawing its 2020 financial outlook as cancellations mount due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The hotel industry could lose $1.4 billion in revenue every week on account of the virus, according to estimates by American Hotel and Lodging Association and the U.S. Travel Association, as demand craters.

Marriott said it was working to reduce its 2020 corporate general and administrative costs by at least $140 million and asking senior executives to take significant pay cuts.

The company had decided to start furlough for what it anticipates will be tens of thousands of employees.

Marriott is the latest hotel operator to abandon it forecast. Smaller rivals Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Hyatt Hotels Corp too had pulled their annual outlook earlier this month.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur)