The Hotel Times - March 2008 - (Page 1)

BUSINESS OUTLOOK » BY STACY SILVER Industry evolves in modern market F ew things change faster than the hotel industry. On any given day, some companies surge forward, some head to the sidelines and some merge or are acquired. Every year, well in excess of $100 billion in hotel transactions and ﬁnancings take place, constantly changing the face of the industry. With the credit crunch, weak U.S. dollar, slowing economy, international investment and industry pundits claiming good basic fundamentals in hospitality, these are particularly interesting times to be a hotelier. Sorting through this rapidly changing environment can be daunting. These are particularly interesting times to be a hotelier. In recent conversations with major hotel ownership groups, developers, investors, lenders and operators, we learned you wanted a cutting-edge, onestop source. You asked for real-time data and information, analysis of leading economic indicators and trends affecting the global hotel investment market, ﬁnancing sourcing and pricing, and indepth analysis of transaction and realestate deals. While there are a number of publications that cover hospitality, no one publication clearly speaks to the ﬁnance/ deal aspects of the industry that you told us you need to better manage your growth. The Hotel Times’ mission is to ﬁll that void. Despite the industry’s recent positive growth, there certainly are clouds on the horizon, ranging from the exit of commercial mortgage-backed securities lenders to the substantial change in equity requirements to get deals done. On the plus side, interest rates remain attractive, which helps offset the additional equity needed to get projects done. The weak dollar is attracting foreign investment in the U.S., while U.S. companies are expanding to Europe, Asia and South America. Globalization has only just begun. The Ernst & Young report “Top 10 Thoughts on the Hospitality Sector in 2008” introduced a number of new elements to ponder, including continued growth in the condo-hotel/destination club sector, as more baby boomers seek second home options in the U.S. and abroad; a proliferation of green hotels, as construction premiums and shortened cost recovery times encourage developers to pursue sustainable properties; and further emphasis on branding at the tourist level (by city and region) and the property level (by operators) as companies look to gain market share and increase the bottom line in a competitive marketplace. To paraphrase Dickens, on any given day, some hoteliers will ﬁnd it the best of times and some will ﬁnd it the worst of times. The Hotel Times will help you make more informed decisions to make them the best and to help avoid the worst. One thing that will be constant in our new publication is change. Please drop me an e-mail to let me know how we can improve our content and provide you with the information you want and need. ssilver@questex.com Business development director The Hotel Times will help readers navigate a changing environment www.TheHotelTimes.com March 2008 The Hotel Times 1 http://www.TheHotelTimes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Hotel Times - March 2008

The Hotel Times - March 2008 Business Outlook Editorial Outlook Contents Conference Preview Capital Outlook What's Driving Growth? European Outlook Development Outlook Fractional Outlook Branding Source List Insurance Outlook Brokers Update Brokerage Outlook Lodging's Balancing Act Transactional Facts Lending Outlook Lenders Source List In Closing

The Hotel Times - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.