Issues the Hospitality Industry Will Ignore at Its Own Peril


Skift Take

The answers vary but there's at least one overriding shared sentiment. Even if times are good, there's always room for improvement in any industry.

The U.S. hotel industry continues to break records. In fact, according to data from STR, 2017 was another record year. In 2017, U.S. hotels saw a 0.9 percent increase in occupancy levels to 65.9 percent nationwide; a 2.1 percent bump in average daily rate to $126.72, and a 3 percent increase in revenue per available room of $83.57. All three metrics were the highest STR has ever recorded. The U.S. hotel industry also set records in supply and demand, with approximately 1.87 billion room nights available, and 1.23 billion room nights sold. With all of these exceptional numbers, you'd think the industry would be content to continue doing what it's been doing for the past nine years of the current lodging cycle. However, smart hoteliers know that there's always room for improvement, especially given ever-present threats to the hotel industry such as online travel agencies and Airbnb. At the most recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) conference in Los Angeles, Skift