Hyatt Pulls Guidance on Concerns Over Coronavirus Outbreak

(Bloomberg) -- Hyatt Hotel Corp. is withdrawing its financial guidance for 2020 because of the outbreak of coronavirus.

The hotel company said that new corporate travel restrictions in North America and Europe would hurt results and make it difficult to forecast the rest of the year.

“Our ability to assess the financial impact of COVID-19 on our business continues to be limited due to quickly changing circumstances and uncertain consumer demand for travel,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Hoplamazian said in a statement. “We continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Hyatt issued its 2020 guidance on Feb. 19, when it reported fourth-quarter earnings. At the time, the company said the coronavirus impact could not be “reasonably estimated,” but cautioned the outbreak could hit its business in Greater China.

Since then, the virus has spread across the globe, forcing travel cancellations as the death toll has surged passed 3,000.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Clark in New York at pclark55@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Giammona at cgiammona@bloomberg.net, Christine Maurus

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