The world’s largest hotel chain says leisure travelers are shaking off the pandemic despite the latest COVID-19 subvariant making its way through the population.

Why it matters: There are several factors that could crimp travel demand — rising prices, economic fears — but COVID no longer seems to be one of them.

Driving the news: “Either there's not deep traveler concern about that variant, or the traveling community is getting a bit numb or confident because they've been two, three, four times vaxxed,” Marriott CEO Tony Capuano says.

The big picture: The economy is undergoing a stark shift in spending back toward services — such as travel — and away from physical goods that homebound people binged on in the early going of the pandemic.

By the numbers: The latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index backs up Capuano’s assertion, showing that Americans aren't thinking much about the coronavirus as they hit the road, Axios’ Adriel Bettelheim reports.

Yes, but: Business travel continues to lag behind leisure travel.

The other side: Capuano acknowledged that business travel spending remains down, but he said Marriott is tracking an upswing in “blended” travel — in which people mix business and pleasure on their trips.

Meanwhile, Marriott's new 21-story headquarters is poised for an official grand opening in September. The company moved across town in Bethesda from an older facility where it had been for decades.

Marriott HQ employees are not currently required to come into the office, but the facility is designed to entice them to do so voluntarily with features such as: