The travel industry will do really well this year. It's a great time to be an operator. What that means for the individual is: Book early, book often.
It's good news for existing hotels, since they benefit from an increase in demand. For the consumer, it's not so great.
We are seeing the pipeline, or the planning and construction stage for new hotels, at a historic low this year.
We expect to see only a moderate increase in room supply: about 1.2% this year, compared with a historical average of 2.2% in the U.S..
I doubt anyone can speak with authority about this number, since even the definition of what constitutes a hotel is unclear when you leave the U.S..
It's a very strong showing. The good news is a lot of people want to come there.
It looks like people have been paying attention rates are stabilizing, occupancies are increasing.
It looks like people have been paying attention ù rates are stabilizing, occupancies are increasing.
What's noteworthy is the rates did not fall when the demand dropped after 9/11. So hotels are now in a great position to grow the rates moving forward.
