Around 150 Hilton hotels with a total of around 33,000 rooms have been temporarily closed in China due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The company's CEO Chris Nassetta announced the drastic move at an earnings conference this week, adding the closures could mean an impact of up to US$50 million.
Hilton says it has four hotels in Wuhan, 225 in Greater China and 6,110 in its global network across 119 countries and territories.
"While it is still early days drawing on the industry's experience with SARS and other similar situations, we've tried to estimate the potential impact on our business," said Nassetta in a transcript of the conference.
"At this point, roughly 150 of our hotels in China totalling approximately 33,000 rooms are closed.
"Assuming the outbreak lasts around three-to-six months with an additional three-to-six month recovery period, for the full year, we would estimate... a US$25 million to US$50 million impact to full-year adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). "
Hilton is said to be the first major hotel chain to estimate the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
There are currently over 65,000 reported coronavirus cases and the virus has killed nearly 1500 people.
Over 73 airlines and several cruise ship companies have also restricted or cancelled services to China.
