Market Recovery Monitor

Despite falling short of growth expectations, U.S. room demand for the week after Thanksgiving reached the second-highest level of the past 23 years.

STR

U.S. tourists flock to Florida as foreign visitors still lag

U.S. visitors continued to drive Florida’s tourism industry at a record pace, while international travel still struggled to reach pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released figures for the third quarter of 2022.

Florida Trends

U.S. Ext.-Stay Q3 Occupancy Dips as Rates Rise

Third-quarter demand and revenue per available room reached record highs for the U.S. extended-stay hotel sector, while occupancy fell for the first time since 2020, according to a new report from The Highland Group.

BTN News

Hotel Asset Managers Optimistic About Near-Term Sector Outlook

In spite of concerns over inflation and potential recession, as well as some lagging pandemic effects, hotel asset managers expect RevPAR levels to exceed 2019 figures.

WealthManagement.com

Lights out: Why more than 10,000 hotel rooms remain closed

Despite an occupancy rate of 86%, 10,000 New York City rooms in 46 hotels remain shuttered two years after they were closed by the pandemic. The slow rebound of business travel is blamed, but so is the development of new properties, which has increased hotel rooms by 15%.

Rich Bockmann

Nearly 65K H-2B visas added

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), will be issuing a regulation that will make available to employers an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year 2023, on top of the 66,000 H-2B visas that are normally available each fiscal year.

Hotel Business

Hoteliers Care for Guests, Assess Damage After Hurricane Ian

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, hoteliers with properties in or near the path of the storm have been taking stock of damages and doing their part in recovery efforts. Though a full assessment is ongoing, the initial Category 4 and subsequent Category 1 landfalls by Hurricane Ian on the Gulf Coast of Florida and Atlantic coastline caused heavy damage.

Hotel News Now

Hurricane Ian impacts health care access across Florida

Hurricane Ian has impacted health care facilities across Florida, making it very difficult for medically vulnerable people to get the care they need. Hospitals have been hardening their facilities for years to withstand hurricanes, but even without considerably damage to the hospitals themselves, challenges remain. The biggest challenge that hospitals are facing is the interruption of key public services, the electrical grid, and most especially the disruption in the public water supply.

Florida Trend

What You Need to Know About the Hurricane IAN

AAHOA, the nation’s largest hotel owners association, recognizes the widespread devastation Hurricane Ian has caused throughout the state of Florida. AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake issued a statement in response to the catastrophic hurricane that pummeled the West Coast of Florida this week and is barreling towards South Carolina. Read more...

AAHOA

Hotel projects and rooms in early planning at an all-time high

The planning of new hotel projects, announced renovations and brand conversions is driving the development rebound of the lodging industry. Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) have found that hotel developers and owners are moving forward in the planning of new hotel construction projects at a rapid pace. They are also renovating and repositioning their existing properties to take advantage of the recovery and, otherwise, setting themselves up for a long post-recovery run.

HB Hotel Business

CBRE Again Raises U.S. Hotel Rate, RevPAR Forecast

The breakneck speed of recovery is slowing, but strong group demand, inbound international and business transient will keep prices rising.

BTN

What is a hotel budget?
Hotel budget guide for 2022: Everything you need to know

In Lund’s words, “A budget is a business plan focused on numbers.” He likens it to a map. “Before you go on a trip, you hopefully have a map of where you’re going so you can figure out your journey and changes you need to make to get to that final destination.”

David Lund

Florida tourism continues to bounce back

Tourism in Florida during the first half of 2022 was up 20 percent from the same period last year and was higher than during the first six months of 2019, the last full year of travel before the coronavirus pandemic. Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, posted numbers online late Monday that estimated Florida had 33.717 million visitors from April 1 through June 30, bringing the total for the first six months of this year to 69.34 million.

Florida Trend

STR Boosts U.S. Hotel Rate Forecast, Cuts Occupancy

STR and Tourism Economics now project an average 2022 U.S. daily room rate of $148, up from $145 in their previous forecast, issued in June.

BTN

Airbnb Falls as Summer Bookings Boom Undercut by High Expectations

Airbnb reported revenue grew 58 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to $2.1 billion, reflecting its strongest second quarter ever. The company also recorded $379 million of net income, the highest ever for that period.

Bloomberg

Las Vegas Casinos Boom Despite Fears of a U.S. Bust

“Vegas is still booming. Despite inflation at a four-decade high, and jitters over a looming recession, people are flocking to the entertainment and gambling oasis. Executives with Caesars Entertainment Inc. and MGM Resorts International this week reported record-high performances for their Las Vegas properties in the latest quarter. Older consumers are returning to the Strip, shaking off pandemic concerns. International travelers began coming back in recent weeks and the convention calendar looking ahead is getting busier, executives said.” (The Wall Street Journal)

WMRE

Grim picture of worsening US housing crisis presented in Senate hearing

“Lawmakers and housing experts painted a grim picture of the state of the U.S. housing market and its impact on renters during a Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing Tuesday. While Republican lawmakers blamed the worsening housing crisis on government regulations and actions by the Biden administration, outside housing experts and Democrats called for expanded rental protections and measures that would expand the nation’s housing stock.” (Smart Cities Dive)

WMRE

L.A. hoteliers oppose mandate to house homeless

Los Angeles hotel owners are taking issue with a proposed city ordinance that would require opening their vacant rooms to homeless people in return for government vouchers. The measure, which could be voted into law by the City Council or subjected to referendum, would be a disservice the needy and paying guests alike, industry representatives say.

KTLA News

Hilton Q2 results exceed expectations

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., for the second quarter ended June 30, reported net income of $367 million, exceeding the high end of guidance. Systemwide comparable RevPAR increased 54.3%, on a currency-neutral basis compared to the same period last year, but was down 2.1% compared to the same period in 2019.

BTN

Is Early Release of Exchange Funds Possible Under 1031 Exchange Rules?

There are times when a taxpayer acting in good faith may seek to receive a return of his deposit while agreeing that the normal taxes will be due on the gain. Unfortunately the early return of funds is permissible in limited circumstances, and a taxpayer should make sure those limitations are not an obstacle to entering into an exchange transaction. But, does compliance with the IRS position in these instances matter, when the exchange is not going to be carried out? Yes, it does.

Accruit

Fed enacts sharpest interest-rate increase since 2000

The Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate by a half-percentage point, the sharpest increase in 22 years, and has outlined a plan to shrink its balance sheet. Looking forward, a 75-basis-point rate increase "is not something the committee is actively considering," Fed Chair Jerome Powell says.

CNBC Evolve

BTN Special Report: Revise, Restart, Revolutionize

Two years after Covid-19 first rolled around the world, closing borders, grounding flights and shutting offices, business travelers are taking their most confident steps since into a changed world. This special issue of BTN explores the full scope of 2022's business travel recovery—from the recovery environment to the rate of business travel return and how travel managers have shaped new travel strategies, policies and processes.

BTN

States Sue U.S. Over Continued Mask Mandate

Twenty-one states led by Florida this week filed a lawsuit in a U.S. district court against several U.S. agencies to throw out the federal mask mandate that has been in effect in airports, on airplanes and on all public transportation since January 2021, when the Biden administration implemented the mandate as an official federal regulation.

BTN

Hotel Brand CEOs Recognize Low Pay, Non-Flexible Hours Exacerbate Labor Struggle

Cost, Availability of Childcare a Contributing Factor to Employee Turnover

Hotel News Now

Monthly US Hotel Performance Tells Tale of Three Recoveries

Economy, Luxury, Upper-Upscale Hotels Each Following Separate Path Back to Profitability

Hotel News Now

A 'Big Disconnect' Between Hotel Fundamentals and Debt Markets Has Opened

A ‘big disconnect’ exists between hospitality market fundamentals and debt markets, as rising inflation stokes volatility. But a ‘substantial tightening trend’ could be on the horizon once the markets have better visibility into what’s to come in the future.

GlobeSt.com

STR: ADR Spike Expected for U.S. Hotels in 2022

Top-line metrics showed a rosier picture for U.S. hotel industry recovery than an inflation-adjusted reality, according to STR, but there’s little downside for hotels for 2022, no matter how you look at the numbers.

BTN

High Cost of Airfare More Likely Than Gas Prices To Hurt Travel Recovery

Tourism Economics Projects US Likely Avoids Recession

Costar

Choice to Acquire Radisson Hotel Group Americas

Choice Hotels International has agreed to buy Radisson Hotel Group Americas for $675 million, the company announced Monday. The move will bring nine new brands and 624 properties into the Choice portfolio, which until now mostly has played in the budget to midprice arena with brands like Clarion, Comfort, Econo Lodge and Quality Inn.

U.S. Travel

Higher room rates could put damper on tourism

Hotel room rates pushed up by demand during the past year might now be hindering tourism amid increasing inflation, state tourism officials said. As the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency celebrated record first-quarter tourism numbers while meeting last week in Orlando, staff and board members also expressed concern that increasing cost of hotel rooms is slowly affecting occupancy rates. “I think we're starting to see, just over the last couple of weeks or so especially, inflation actually starting to catch up with us in most markets,” said Jacob Pewitt Yancey, Visit Florida director of consumer insight and analytics.

Florida Trend