Update, 2/16/2021: Marriott International has announced that company President and CEO Arne Sorenson unexpectedly passed away on Feb. 15, 2021.

The hotel industry has been decimated by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Marriott chief executive Arne Sorenson has been on the front lines. The COVID-19 pandemic is said to have hurt Marriott International’s business worse than 9/11 and the Great Recession combined.

In an emotional video address released last week, the CEO of the world’s largest hotel company announced that tens of thousands of corporate employees would be furloughed and that he would not take a salary for the rest of the year.

“The impact to people’s lives will be profound,” Sorenson said in an interview with “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal. “We’ve got to find a way to get through this together. We will, ultimately.”

Click the audio player above to hear the interview.