Smith Travel Research (STR) released data through Hotel News Now  (HNN) on the US hotel industry’s 3rd quarter performance. Numbers are still going down in the US. After a dismal 1st quarter 2009 when nationwide hotel occupancy was just over half full at 51.8%, which was probably viewed by most hoteliers as a hotel half-empty, [...]

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Coach Air Travelers to Pay for Premium-class Excess?
Joe Brancatelli has a great read from the Washington Post on the long term outlook for air travel.  He predicts the economics of premium cabin extreme makeovers these past few years will result in higher economy class fares for the leisure traveler coming soon as the profitable premium-class [...]

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Luxury Hotels – “Show me the Discount”
The hotel industry strategists urged full steam ahead in early 2008 when faced with any discussion of a world recession and that “d” word.  I am talking about “discount” room rates. 
Shhhh. 
The “d” word can’t be spoken too loudly inside the hotel industry.
Wall Street and the hotel industry [...]

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Travel Going Down, Down, Down. It’s the Economy, Stupid!
Global hotel rates are up overall, year-over-year for July 2008, in all regions except the Caribbean, reports STR Global.  The STR Global survey set of over 36,000 hotels and nearly 5 million rooms probably comprises all of the 25,000 or so hotels in the top 10 major [...]

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