-"The mission of the California Lodging Industry Association is to promote, protect and advance the interests of lodging owners and their management teams statewide, and to provide a network of resources to support member efficiency, profitability and professionalism.”-

June 29, 2023

U.S. Travel’s Forecast Highlights Travel’s Continued Resilience Within a Challenging Economic Backdrop

By Aaron Szyf, Economist , U.S. Travel Association

Our latest biannual forecast projects that all segments of travel will be robust in 2023 and beyond, despite our expectation of weakening economic conditions and a normalizing of post-pandemic demand. Even when adjusted for inflation—and despite the still-lagging recovery in the business and international segments—total travel spending in the U.S. is expected to reach 93% of 2019 levels this year.

The backdrop: The first half of 2023 has managed to dodge a recession, but with soaring inflation, a continued tight monetary policy and softening consumer spending, a mild recession remains likely toward the end of the year. Coupled with a softening of demand and a dwindling of excess savings, travel’s continued growth will face moderate headwinds.

REVENUE MANAGEMENT

4 movies to remember for hotel revenue management.

Have you ever been asked what you do for a living and not really known how to answer? Maybe your kids or family members have asked what you really do at work all day, and the words “revenue management” don’t seem to tell the story—nor do they clarify anything to your mother-in-law.

The real question is, what don’t revenue managers do? This is a very important function that has evolved over time and involves many disciplines. It is about strategy, analytics, forecasting, pricing, change management, salesmanship and more.

U.S. Hotel Performance Cools a Bit in the Leadup to Summer

By STR

U.S. hotel industry performance slowed a bit more than expected in the four weeks ending 17 June 2023. That period, which spanned the slower business time around Memorial Day but also the start to the leisure-centered summer travel, produced flat demand and occupancy compared to the previous version of this “bubble chart” series. At the same time, gains in average daily rate (ADR) continued to level down.

Before diving into market specifics, it is important to note that one flat performance period does not signal an alarming trend. Recent demand trends have shown a healthy return, particularly in weekday/business travel. Still, we are reminded of the importance of continuing to monitor the industry with the context of with macroeconomic conditions, such as domestic vs. international travel, inflation and labor challenges.

Four weeks ending 17 June 2023:

Occupancy came in at 66.0%, which was unchanged from the previous four weeks.
Occupancy was down 1.9 ppts from the matching period in 2022.
Occupancy was down 3.8 ppts from the 2019 comparable of 70.2%, a steeper deficit than last month’s long-term comparison (-3.1 ppts).

While the rate of new rooms in construction has flattened since the pandemic, it is worth adding that modest supply growth of 2.7% from the matched period in 2019 adds to that occupancy deficit against pre-pandemic times.

#WellnessWednesdays unlocked camaraderie for our teams

Amy Salvago, Director of Human Resources, oversees this program and today shares with us what started this idea, how she runs it, and advice she has for others considering something similar.

Today's challenge: What activities could you offer for your teams to promote wellness and also build camaraderie?

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