Meeting News - January 7, 2008 - (Page 49)

Cover Story PricewaterhouseCoopers continued from cover (most recent data available) hovered around 65 percent, marginally better for hoteliers than October 2006’s 63.3 percent. And, both lodging demand and supply growth are below their longterm averages, according to PwC, based on data from Smith Travel Research. “Despite how good the hotel industry feels, growth is still below the long-term trend,” said Bjorn Hanson, principal of PwC’s hospitality and leisure group, during a briefing at the consultancy’s New York City headquarters in mid-December. ting a large number of guest rooms out of service,” said Hanson. That year, the industry posted negative supply growth against 2.8-percent demand growth, tightening the market.Although demand growth has slowed since, lodging supply growth inched just 0.2 and 1.3 percent in 2006 and 2007. The good news for planners is that the lodging construction rate is back to historical-high levels. Work on around 140,000 new sleeping rooms began in 2006, and 2007 saw a similar number of new-room builds, after five years of below-average room starts, said PwC, working on data by F.W. Dodge. And, the dollar is forecast to strengthen against the euro throughout this year (by 5.8 percent) and into 2009, increasing U.S. planners’ buying power in Europe and perhaps lowering European demand for U.S. meetings. H Contact William Ng at william.ng@nielsen.com AD INDEX Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Aqua Cancun . . . . . . . . .10A (insert) www.feel-aqua.com Barcelo Hotels & Resorts . . . . . . . .23 www.barcelo.com Biltmore Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 www.BiltmoreHotel.com Blue Shark Golf Club . . . . . . . . . .47 www.bluesharkgolf.com Boston Convention and Exhibition Center . . . . . . . . . .48 www.AdvantageBOSTON.com Brisas Hotels & Resorts . . . . . . . . .21 www.brisas.com.mx Emerald Coast CVB . . . . . . . . . . . .43 www.destin-fwb.com Greensboro Area CVB . . . . . . . .1, 36 www.greensboronc.org Harrah’s/Harvey’s Lake Tahoe . . . . .52 www.harrahstahoe.com www.harveystahoe.com Hilton San Diego Bayfront . . . . . . .13 www.samdiegoconventioncenter.hilton.com Hotel Nikko San Francisco . . . . . . .9 www.hotelnikkosf.com LA Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 www.seemyLA.com/meetings Leaders Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 www.build-a-bike.com Long Beach CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3 www.visitlongbeach.com Memphis CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 www.memphistravel.com Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . .5 www.mbchamber.com New Orleans CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 www.neworleansmeeting.com Newport Beach CVB . . . . . . . . . . .31 www.visitnewportbeach.com/sales Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau . . . . . . . . .45 www.ocalamarion.com Orange County Convention Center .17 www.occc.net Palm Beach CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 www.palmbeachfl.com PGA National Resort & Spa . . . . . .39 www.pga-resorts.com Sandpearl Resort . . . . . . . . . . .6, 46 www.sandpearl.com Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa . . . .44 www.sanibel-resort.com Sea Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 www.seatrail.com Visit Charlotte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 www.visitcharlotte.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. Hotel availability will ease a bit. 2008 won’t be transformational for planners. —Bjorn Hanson, principal, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ hospitality and leisure group “ ” The news on hotel rates was similar. While the industry’s average daily rate (ADR) eclipsed the century mark for the first time in 2007, at $103.70 in October 2007, the rate was still below PwC’s long-term average. And,“take inflation out, and it’s only slightly above the 2000 rate,” said Hanson. “The bad news for the hotel industry is that all the innovations it has made, such as flat-screen TVs and Internet access, have not resulted in real ADR growth.” Moreover, ADR growth for hoteliers—as well as revenue per average room (revPAR) growth—has been slowing down since 2006, according to PwC statistics. Yet, the fact also remains that it is still a seller’s market for meeting planners scouring for group rooms and meeting space, as U.S. hotel supply remains tight. Forecasting a mix of good and bad, Hanson said 2008 “won’t be transformational” for planners. Despite gas prices being at their highest levels since 1980 and forecast to rise 6.6 percent this year, a PwC calculation showed that they’ve dampened lodging demand by just 0.5 percent. “Hotel availability will ease a bit,” he said of the tight supply, but because of pent-up demand, “hotels can keep charging higher room and F&B rates.” On top of that, Hanson said suppliers will be tacking on surcharges and might even start charging meeting room setup fees. Echoing recent sentiment, he suggested that planners look for opportunities in second- and third-tier destinations for hotel availability and deals. “The hurricanes in 2005 really had a dramatic effect on both supply and demand dynamics by putwww.meetingnews.com January 7, 2008 MeetingNews 49 http://www.feel-aqua.com http://www.memphistravel.com http://www.barcelo.com http://www.mbchamber.com http://www.BiltmoreHotel.com http://www.neworleansmeeting.com http://www.bluesharkgolf.com http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/sales http://www.AdvantageBOSTON.com http://www.ocalamarion.com http://www.brisas.com.mx http://www.occc.net http://www.destin-fwb.com http://www.palmbeachfl.com http://www.greensboronc.org http://www.pga-resorts.com http://www.harrahstahoe.com http://www.sandpearl.com http://www.harveystahoe.com http://www.sanibel-resort.com http://www.sandiegoconventioncenter.hilton.com http://www.seatrail.com http://www.hotelnikkosf.com http://www.visitcharlotte.com http://www.seemyLA.com/meetings http://www.build-a-bike.com http://www.visitlongbeach.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - January 7, 2008

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