After having experienced a very busy summer travel season that hoisted the company to almost-recover status in the post-COVID era, the chairman of Omni Hotels Resorts believes that the steady travel pace will continue into this year s holiday season.
People have spent the last two Christmases away from their family, away from their friends. Omni s Peter Strebel told FOX Business Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday, no matter what it costs, people are going to need to get together. With the cost of airline tickets up more than 33% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Labor Department, and more Americans starting to plan ahead for holiday travel plans, Strebel argued that decades-high inflation won't affect the number of bookings Omni expects to make.
Strebel noted that the cost is definitely going to be a lot more than it has been. Our customer base is a little more luxury on the luxury side of the coin. We're not as affected by the inflation. Since May of this year, Omni has beat its peak 2019 earnings numbers each month, according to its chairman, noting that leisure travel has returned to a stable pace after the COVID- 19 pandemic closures.
We've been very busy, which is great to see. Strebel said we're almost fully staffed. I think the business is almost there, and almost recovered, and on its way. Strebel contributed to Omni's revenue growth from the pent-up demand for group and business travel after the Pandemic, with more than 50 properties across North America.
Strebel said that the reason for group travel is to bring people together, to boost morale, to have a company culture. It's kind of dead for almost two years and it's like there's a thirst for getting people back together. To keep up with the soaring travel demand, the chairman of Omni said that the company has several projects in the works to build or reimagine property experiences, including two new hotels in Texas and Arizona, an Orlando location expansion and a massive restoration of one of America's oldest hotels in Virginia.
We didn't stop during COVID. Strebel said that we still kept building and renovating our hotels. The oldest resort in America is The Homestead, and it is located in Hot Springs, Virginia. We are spending $140 million on restoring that hotel to its original architecture and feel.