Quantifying the financial impact of COVID-19 on the largest global companies in the hotel industry

Abstract

COVID-19 has affected every business worldwide, with the hotel industry being among the hardest hit. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the pandemic on the liquidity and profitability of the world's five largest hotel companies. The research is conducted through financial ratio analysis and comparative analysis based on available financial data from 2017 to 2022, covering the period before, during and ―after‖ (the recovery period) the crisis. Research results imply that hotels have prioritized liquidity over profitability during the pandemic, with some indicators pointing to its devastating effects that generated a long and difficult recovery. The paper's conclusions can be useful for the examined hotel companies to control their costs and produce positive financial outcomes in the future. They can also be helpful to policymakers as a respectable delivery system which will guarantee that the support eventually gets to the businesses that need it most.