Average daily hotel rates continued to climb in April, nearly reaching a pre-recession high of 2008, according to new data.
North American hotel rates for business travelers jumped 9.3% over 2011, setting a new year-over-year growth record, reports Pegasus Solutions, a technology company that works with hotels. It was just three percentage points shy of rates paid in 2008.
North American rates for leisure travelers in April also rose year-over-year by 7.3%.
Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions, said in a written statement that hotels made the mistake in 2001 and 2008, during economic downturns, of slashing rates when bookings fell.
Now, he says, "Hotels are staying true to their product, not only maintaining rates, but also driving them back to where they need to be. Combined with bookings growth, this rate growth has corporate revenue up by double digits over all five previous years."
Hotel deals are up
In another sign that the hotel industry is recovering, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, a real estate services firm focusing on hotels, reported today that deals for U.S. hotels reached $5.1 billion in the first five months of 2012, the second highest volume in the past four years.
Still, that was a drop in volume from the same period last year, when hotel deals reached $6.4 billion.
"The volume of capital flowing to hotel real estate remains high as acquisitive investors enthusiastically seek opportunities to buy hotels," Arthur Adler, Americas chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said in a written statement.
The average price per room for single hotels topped $194,000, five percent above the full-year 2011 level. The firm says that it is a good indication of a high level of investor interest.
The firm predicts that many hotels will be bought and sold this year, with transactions totaling up to $15 billion.
In another survey it released last week, 46 percent of investors said they planned to make purchases in the next six months. At the same time, investors' intent to sell hotels was at a four-year high, "pointing to an increasingly active transactions market over the next six months," the report said.
According to Reuters, Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said during a panel discussion at a New York hospitality industry conference today that his company plans to actively add brands and assets.
Last week, Marriott International said it would pay $210 million to assume management of Gaylord Entertainment's hotels.
And the Blackstone Group, which owns Hilton Worldwide, agreed to buy U.S. budget chains Motel 6 and Studio 6 from France's Accor for $1.2 billion, Reuters said.
North American hotel rates for business travelers jumped 9.3% over 2011, setting a new year-over-year growth record, reports Pegasus Solutions, a technology company that works with hotels. It was just three percentage points shy of rates paid in 2008.
North American rates for leisure travelers in April also rose year-over-year by 7.3%.
Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions, said in a written statement that hotels made the mistake in 2001 and 2008, during economic downturns, of slashing rates when bookings fell.
Now, he says, "Hotels are staying true to their product, not only maintaining rates, but also driving them back to where they need to be. Combined with bookings growth, this rate growth has corporate revenue up by double digits over all five previous years."
Hotel deals are up
In another sign that the hotel industry is recovering, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, a real estate services firm focusing on hotels, reported today that deals for U.S. hotels reached $5.1 billion in the first five months of 2012, the second highest volume in the past four years.
Still, that was a drop in volume from the same period last year, when hotel deals reached $6.4 billion.
"The volume of capital flowing to hotel real estate remains high as acquisitive investors enthusiastically seek opportunities to buy hotels," Arthur Adler, Americas chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said in a written statement.
The average price per room for single hotels topped $194,000, five percent above the full-year 2011 level. The firm says that it is a good indication of a high level of investor interest.
The firm predicts that many hotels will be bought and sold this year, with transactions totaling up to $15 billion.
In another survey it released last week, 46 percent of investors said they planned to make purchases in the next six months. At the same time, investors' intent to sell hotels was at a four-year high, "pointing to an increasingly active transactions market over the next six months," the report said.
According to Reuters, Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson said during a panel discussion at a New York hospitality industry conference today that his company plans to actively add brands and assets.
Last week, Marriott International said it would pay $210 million to assume management of Gaylord Entertainment's hotels.
And the Blackstone Group, which owns Hilton Worldwide, agreed to buy U.S. budget chains Motel 6 and Studio 6 from France's Accor for $1.2 billion, Reuters said.
