Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, Interviewed by Stacey Mieyal Higgins | hotelnewsnow.com
Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, discussed the firm's revised forecasts during a break at the AH&LA Summer Summit.
Reports
STR posts US results for week ending 4 July 2009
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 28 June-4 July 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 6.0 percent to end the week at 57.7 percent. Average daily rate dropped 7.4 percent to finish the week at US$95.16. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 13.0 percent to finish at US$54.94.
National Travel MONITOR Reveals Where U.S. domestic Travelers Want to Go
In the battle for domestic travel dollars during the year ahead, the just-released Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel MONITOR(SM) reveals that the West is likely to win, with the South not far behind. When asked about their interest in visiting specific regions across the country during the next two years, more than seven in ten (72%) leisure travelers said they'd like to visit the western region of the United States, followed by the South with 62 percent (62%), the Northeast with 33 percent (33%) and the Midwest with 21 percent (21%). Interest in the West and Northeast has decreased since 2008, however, while the appeal of the South and Midwest remained consistent.
Cornell Study Finds that Lower Hotel Prices Cost Hotels Money in Good Times and Bad
When close competitors cut their prices, the temptation for hotel operators is to follow with reductions of their own. While that strategy may increase occupancy, it reduces revenue per available room (RevPAR), when compared to a hotel’s competitive group. This is the key finding of a new study from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research, “Competitive Pricing in Uncertain Times,” by Cathy A. Enz, Linda Canina, and Mark Lomanno.
STR reports U.S. performance for May 2009
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during May, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 11.8 percent to end the month at 55.7 percent. Average daily rate dropped 9.8 percent to finish the month at US$97.03. Revenue per available room for the month decreased 20.4 percent to finish at US$54.05.
Industry posts record room revenue in 2008, other indicators slide | STR Reports
The U.S. hotel industry average daily rate reached a record high, ending 2008 at US$106.55, but Pre-Tax Income Profits for the year were down 7.9 percent to US$25.8 billion, according to STR’s Hotel Operating Statistics (HOST) Study.
STR posts US results for 7-13 June 2009
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 7-13 June 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 10.1 percent to end the week at 61.0 percent. Average daily rate dropped 9.4 percent to finish the week at US$96.61. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 18.6 percent to finish at US$58.96.
Luxury chain scale shows pricing disparity | STR
STR determines chain scales by grouping branded hotels based on average room rates. There are seven segments in all: luxury, upper upscale, upscale, midscale with food & beverage, midscale without food & beverage, economy and independent. All independent (nonbranded) hotels are categorized in a single, separate chain scale category.
STR reports U.S. hotel Pipeline for May 2009
The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline includes 4,907 projects with 522,778 rooms, according to the May 2009 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. This represents a 22.2-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the total active pipeline compared to May 2008. The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages, but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.
STR posts Canada results for week ending 6 June 2009
The Canadian hotel industry posted decreases in all three key performance measurements during the week of 31 May-6 June, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 12.8 percent to end the week at 64.8 percent. Average daily rate dropped 14.8 percent to finish the week at CAD$130.18. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 25.8 percent to finish at CAD$84.30.
STR posts US results for week ending 6 June 2009
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 31 May-6 June 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 13.9 percent to end the week at 56.6 percent. Average daily rate dropped 10.5 percent to finish the week at US$95.90. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 22.9 percent to finish at US$54.24.
U.S. Lodging Turning Point Arrives | But Growth Remains on Distant Horizon
PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) today announced that, according to its June 2009 edition of Hotel Horizons®, rooms revenue per available room (RevPAR) will reach its cyclical low point in the third quarter of 2009. This will bring to a close the escalating trend of declines in RevPAR that began in the third quarter of 2008, according to Smith Travel Research (STR). In May 2009, Moody’s Economy.com downgraded its outlook of a 2.9 percent national employment decline to 3.8 percent, causing PKF-HR to revise its RevPAR forecast for the year. Given the correlation between employment and lodging demand, the new expectation is for RevPAR to decline 17.5 percent in 2009, followed by another 3.5 percent decline in 2010.
Resort segment feels downturn pinch | hotelnewsnow.com
More than 300 properties representing 158,300 rooms are defined as destination resorts in STR’s U.S. lodging census database. We classify these resorts as full-service upscale (chain scale) and above or upper-tier independent hotels. This exclusive group of properties is appealing to leisure and family vacation-oriented travelers, located in “resort” locales and is considered a group of self-contained destinations typically offering golf, tennis, ski, spa and beach-related amenities. More than 41 percent of resorts rooms are located in Florida followed by California with 12.2 percent.
Hitwise Monthly Travel Category Report - May 2009
This monthly report provides Hitwise data on: The websites That Entered and Left the Top 100 Travel Category websites - Top 20 websites for the past month based on visits - Most popular search terms typed into a search engine that resulted in traffic to websites classified by Hitwise within the Travel industry. The Traffic Distribution Analysis of visits to the Travel category - The Visits Duration Analysis to the Travel Category - Fast Movers - indicating websites which have witnessed substantial increases in rank in the online Travel industry
Hotels Keep Customers Happy Despite Cuts in Staff and Service
Customer satisfaction with hotels remained strong (unchanged at 82.9) but airlines (-1.9 to 75.8) and rental car (-0.3 to 79.0) scores declined in the first quarter of 2009. Mandarin Oriental Hotels, JetBlue Airlines, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline, and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively.
U.S. hotel industry enters 19th month of recession
This morning, the economic research firm e-forecasting.com, in conjunction with STR, announced that following a decline of 1.1 percent in April, HIP declined 1.3 percent in May. HIP, the Hotel Industry Pulse index, is composite indicator that gauges business activity in the U.S. hotel industry in real-time. The latest decrease brought the index to a reading of 83.1. The index was set to equal 100 in 2000.
US results for 24-30 May 2009 | STR
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 24-30 May 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 10.2 percent to end the week at 51.6 percent. Average daily rate dropped 9.6 percent to finish the week at US$93.00. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 18.9 percent to finish at US$47.96.
HVS 2009 Manhattan Hotel Market Overview
HVS Global Hospitality Services, in cooperation with New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, is pleased to present the twelfth annual Manhattan Hotel Market Overview. For most U.S. hotel markets, 2008 represented the first year of the recession; however, the Manhattan lodging market was able to weather the economic downturn during the first nine months of the year and closed 2008 with moderate growth, remaining the top-performing market in the U.S. An analysis of the monthly trends for 2008 reveals that the Manhattan market experienced a RevPAR increase of 9.0% through September, followed by its first decrease in RevPAR since June 2003 as the economic recession heightened
US results for 17-23 May 2009 | STR
The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 17-23 May 2009, according to data from STR. In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 11.1 percent to end the week at 59.4 percent. Average daily rate dropped 9.3 percent to finish the week at US$98.31. Revenue per available room for the week decreased 19.4 percent to finish at US$58.39.
Don't Try To Time The Market
The silverlining of an economic downturn is the great buying opportunity it creates for those with capital to invest. This down cycle is developing into what will probably become one of the best times to acquire hotels since 1991. The difference this time is the current recession wasn't preceded by overbuilding. Because the hotel industry is facing only a demand problem, and not oversupply of rooms that first needs to be absorbed. The Questions I'm asked the most by hotel buyers are: "When is the best time to buy? When will I get the most for my money? Should I hold off untill the prices really tank? How much will hotel values fall? How fast will they recover?". Let's try to asnwer these important questions.
By Stephen Rushmore, Hotel Valuation Expert and Founder of HVS, Hotel Valuation Software