Hospitality Trends

The lackluster economy may have dampened growth for the restaurant industry at large, but fast casual restaurants continue to stand out as one notable exception.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) has just published its fourth quarterly report on European Tourism in 2011 - Trends & Prospects.

Average domestic air fares rose to $361 in the third quarter of 2011, up 6.2 percent from the average fare of $340 in the third quarter of 2010 (Table 1), the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. Cincinnati had the highest average fare, $488, while Atlantic City, NJ, had the lowest, $167.

2011 was another record year for tourism in Toronto as the number of hotel room nights sold surpassed 9 million for the first time ever, Tourism Toronto announced today. Additionally, for the first time since 2006, Toronto has seen an increase in overnight visitors from the U.S., while emerging overseas markets continued to show growth.

Published in conjunction with STR (Smith Travel Research) and endorsed by the Hotel Association of Canada. This publication summarizes weekly occupancy and average room rates from major cities in Canada.

When one reads general business and industry publications, it sometimes appears that social media has grabbed the attention of many writers as the current trend and the topic needing additional coverage and insights. While it is very clear that social media has become a major force, the discussion groups in many LinkedIn hospitality groups include questions and answers on many additional topics. These include operations, hiring, training, development, customer service, technology and other areas.

Five of the ten European cities for which we present data this month registered Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR) growth in December according to the latest HotStats survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Published in conjunction with STR (Smith Travel Research) and endorsed by the Hotel Association of Canada. This publication summarizes weekly occupancy and average room rates from major cities in Canada.

This article discusses why the cost of capital available to developers influences whether they will require subsidies. A strategy to minimize public subsidies involves seeking the most qualified developer who also has the lowest cost of capital.

In year-over-year comparisons for the week, occupancy was up 3.9 percent to 51.4 percent, average daily rate increased 3.7 percent to US$99.96 and revenue per available room was up 7.8 percent to US$51.39.