ATLANTA
Record demand for the U.S. hotel industry has been well documented, but until now the shortcomings in group business have cast a slight pall over even the most optimistic observers. According to Tim Hart, executive vice president of business intelligence solutions for TravelClick, overcast skies are gone.
“We’re seeing some healthy group growth now in terms of rate.” said Hart, whose company tracks advance bookings for hotel rooms. “In fact, it’s pretty much a good story in occupancy and average-daily-rate growth in each of the three major segments we track.
Hart told attendees of the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference in Atlanta that his company projects for 2012: room nights sold for group business will increase 5.1 percent, while ADR in the segment will grow 4.9 percent; room nights sold for transient business travel will be up 2.5 percent and ADR will rise 4.4 percent; room nights sold for transient leisure travel will increase 3.1 percent while ADR will jump 5.6 percent.
“We’re encouraged by what‘s happening on group,” he said. “It has stopped being a drag and started contributing to strong ADR growth.”
Courtesy of hotelnewsnow.com
