Coronavirus and Travel

Not all is down-and-out with U.S. companies during the coronavirus outbreak, and furloughed hotel workers could provide much-needed labor in healthcare, grocery, and e-commerce supply chains until the economy gets back to baseline.

Businesses in the times of coronavirus are damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Travelzoo’s decision to exit Asia-Pacific when signs of recovery are being spotted in China is a good example of that.

The growing need for quarantine facilities across Asia offers a silver lining for hotels struggling with low occupancies. It goes to show that even in drastic times, opportunities exist.

Corporate bailouts are never popular with the average voter. But bailing out the cruise industry — which goes out of its way to avoid paying U.S. federal taxes — is proving a particularly hard case to make as the travel industry appeals to Congress for help.

Will hotel direct-booking campaigns be in play after the coronavirus crisis? That's a side issue that online travel agencies and hotels would love to have to deal with at some point. In the interim, they are facing more existential questions.

Many of Airbnb's previous funding rounds were oversubscribed. But if Airbnb indeed taps new venture capital funding, it won't have trouble finding benefactors. Still, the company's valuation will be considerably lower than the prior $31 billion.

Granted, this crisis is unprecedented. Yet hotels worldwide can learn lessons from how hotels have faced regional shutdowns, such as in Asia-Pacific in recent months, in Las Vegas after the shooting rampage, and elsewhere after hurricanes and financial crises. Managing room rates and marketing offers is critical to making the most of a rebound in demand.

Airlines, cruise ships, and hotels rely on travel advisors to book a lot of their business. A lobbying effort is afoot to make sure that thousands of these small businesses don't get left out of recovery measures.

A greater appreciation of travel and its many segments could be a positive outcome of the coronavirus pandemic. But until the storm blows over, many small businesses in the Asian tourism industry are facing survival threats.