US Hotel room prices are expected to drop a total of 8.8 percent in
2009 compared to 2008 and will continue creeping down in 2010, though
at a much slower rate, according to the 2010 lodging forecast from
PricewaterhouseCoopers Hospitality & Leisure Practice.
is expected that the steepest declines in ADR (average daily rates)
have passed, but that year-over-year ADR levels will continue to
decline, resulting in a 1.8 percent decline" next year,
PricewaterhouseCoopers said.
A 3.2 percent increase in the
number of hotel rooms this year added to the hotel industry's problems,
PricewaterhouseCoopers said, expanding supply just as consumer demand
weakened and further hurting the ability of hotel operators to maintain
stable pricing.
Many new hotels, including a number of luxury projects and
high-end renovations like the Fontainebleau in Miami and the Roosevelt
in New Orleans, have opened during the recession as projects that were
planned before the downturn came to fruition.
Occupancy levels
for 2009 are expected to decrease 8.4 percent over the previous year to
55.2 percent, PricewaterhouseCoopers said, meaning that hotels in 2009
will be on average just over half-occupied.
The number of hotel
rooms available is expected to continue to grow next year but so will
demand, leading to a slightly higher hotel occupancy rate for 2010 of
55.8 percent, the report said.
That's still seven percentage points below the long-term average for the industry of 62.8 percent occupancy.
While
the decreases have resulted in lowered revenue for the hotel industry,
they've been a boon for consumers looking for travel bargains, as
hotels have slashed rates and offered deals in order to lure guests.
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