5 Takeaways From the Year’s Largest Hotel Industry Conference
Photo Credit: Choice Hotels International has introduced a new midscale extended stay brand called Everhome Suites. This is a rendering of one of its lobbies. Choice Hotels International
Skift Take
The hotel industry is expected to have a slowdown in profits this year, yet companies keep starting new brands and expanding existing ones. Where is this optimism coming from?
Every January, about 3,000 hotel executives, owners, developers, and management companies gather in Los Angeles to make pronouncements about the health of the industry and their goals for the year.
While hotel companies always say that they are optimistic about the future—they’re making more deals, creating new brands, expanding existing brands—the numbers tell a murkier story.
Industry research firm STR and Tourism Economics released its first forecast of 2020 this week at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS).
For the first time since 2009, the U.S. hotel industry is likely to have flat growth in revenue per available room, or RevPAR, a key metric.
STR revised its predictions from its previous forecast in November, when it predicted increases in RevPar of 0.5 percent in 2020 and 0.7 percent in 2021. Now, it is saying there will be no growth this year and 0.5 percent growth in 2021.
STR president Amanda Hite said 2019 was the worst year since the recession
