The coronavirus outbreak has the Hilton hospitality group looking at a possibly protracted impact on its business. In an earnings call, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta revealed that 150 hotels, in China have been forced to close. That represents approximately 39,000 rooms that will be generating no revenue for the immediate future.

While it is too early to forecast the length of time with any certainty, based on the previous experience of the Sars epidemic, business could be impacted for up to a year.

“We’ve tried to estimate the potential impact on our business. Three to six months of escalation and impact from the outbreak, and then these things don’t typically turn around overnight, so another three to six months of recovery,” Nassetta said.

While the coronavirus outbreak is expected to have the highest impact China and elsewhere in Asia, it will also affect the US and other global markets with a decline in outbound China travel, already weakened by a slowdown in leisure trips and the impact from the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

Hilton expects the coronavirus outbreak to cut US $25 million to US $50 million off the company’s EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) for 2020.

Nassetta said the inbound China market currently accounts for about 2.7% of its EBITDA.