This summer was supposed to be the season of revenge travel. With COVID-19 caseloads easing and consumers flush with savings built up during the pandemic, the travel industry was anticipating a robust season. Consumers were so eager to get out of the house that little could deter them, the thinking ... READ MORE >
From distress to recovery, hospitality avoids worst-case scenarios: Spring 2022 outlook
Business travel, while recovering, has suffered amid pandemic restrictions. Rising room rates nationwide are a worrisome trend consumers are watching. Labor presents significant challenges to hospitality, and new incentives are important. Read about other sectors As the pandemic appears to be ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home supply lags demand and spike in real estate agents
Demand for residential property is high as individuals and families located in dense urban areas or states with heavy COVID-19 lockdown protocols consider the South and West as locations for vacation homes. As a result, the existing home supply is in short order; in February, the most recent month for ... READ MORE >
Hanging on: Five ways that hotels can survive the pandemic economy
(This is the last of three articles examining how the pandemic is affecting the hospitality industry. Read the first and second.) Even the most basic financial strategist knows that there are two ways to improve a company’s bottom line — cut costs or drive revenues. In a time of Depression-like ... READ MORE >
Hotels face a long road to recovery emerging from the pandemic
(This is the second of three articles examining how the pandemic is affecting the hospitality industry. Read the first here, about how the industry is struggling to adapt.) Even as the American economy continues to emerge from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic and economists predict strong growth ... READ MORE >
Reeling from the pandemic, hospitality industry struggles to adapt
(This is the first of three articles examining how the pandemic is affecting the hospitality industry.) If there was any sign of the hospitality industry’s rapid change amid the continuing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, look no further than the recent debut of home rental portal Airbnb in the ... READ MORE >
Hotel occupancy data: It’s only half the story
Hotel occupancy is typically measured by the consistent supply of rooms, and on the surface recent numbers have been looking favorable. Occupancy was up to 49.9% in the week ended Aug. 8, up from 48.9% a week earlier, and 45.9% a month earlier. But given that the pandemic has forced closures of ... READ MORE >
Rethinking the staycation: Driving boosts hotel occupancy in regional hotspots
As cities slowly awaken from coronavirus-related lockdowns and reopen their economies, regions that rely on auto travel are leading the nascent recovery in the hospitality sector. A combination of low gas prices, concern over air travel and convenience for drivers in many markets is prompting hotel ... READ MORE >
With lifeline from Paycheck Protection Program cut short, real estate turns to bankers for liquidity
The Paycheck Protection Program, a $350 billion government effort to help small and medium-size businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic, is hitting its funding limit less than two weeks after it was launched on April 3. "At the present run-rate, we're going to be out of money," Lawrence Kudlow, ... READ MORE >