Washington | As predicted by industry experts, the U.S. lodging industry recorded its best year ever in 2005, posting pretax profits of $22.6 billion, up from $16.7 billion in 2003, based on the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AH&LA) Lodging Industry Profile (LIP), a statistical analysis of the lodging industry for year-end 2005.

The lodging industry’s overall profitability grossed $122.7 billion in total sales—compared to $113.7 billion in 2004. This increase is attributed to a variety of sources, including the industry’s ability to raise room rates due to an increase in demand from both leisure and business travelers. The LIP’s other indicators — promotional spending, average occupancy rate, and revenue per available room — also point to a stronger lodging industry performance ahead.

Other facts found in the LIP:

• There are 47,590 properties consisting of 4.4 million guestrooms.
• The lodging industry directly supports more than 7.5 million jobs.
• The tourism industry is currently the third largest retail industry, behind automotive and food stores. In 30 states, tourism ranks as the first, second, or third largest employer.
• Tourism generated $654 billion in domestic sales.

The LIP provides a quick list of significant facts about the lodging, travel, and tourism industries, including employment impact; international travel statistics; and property and room breakdowns by location, rate, and size. A complimentary copy of the 2006 AH&LA Lodging Industry Profile is available on the AH&LA Website, www.ahla.com. Figures for year-end 2006 will be available in fall 2007.

Information contained in the LIP is based on data provided by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd.; Smith Travel Research; the Travel Industry Association of America; and the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.