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Data shows full recovery still far away

December 05, 2011 | Hotel Marketing

The hotel industry’s performance metrics will continue to grow at a slow and steady pace throughout the remainder of this year and into next, but according to forecasts and forward bookings, a full recovery to pre-recession levels won’t occur anytime soon.

“We’ll still be continuing to grow but, in general, have we reached the pre-recession levels? No,” said Julie Parodi, senior director of strategic planning and analysis for Pegasus Solutions and editor of The Pegasus View. “That’s why we still use the word ‘recovery.’

“We’re making progress but the recovery is still in process.”

Parodi said full recovery won’t occur in 2012, either. Most expectations, she said, are that the U.S. hotel industry won’t be back to pre-recession levels until 2013.

Jan Freitag, senior VP of global development for STR (the parent company of HotelNewsNow.com), said if the metrics are adjusted for inflation it could be even longer. Specifically, he said the 12-month moving average for U.S. average daily rate was US$107.72 at its peak in September 2008. In October 2011 it was US$101.13.

“You can argue that US$107 versus US$101 is just a US$6 difference,” Freitag said. “But adjusted with inflation you suddenly have to make up US$7 or US$8. It’s at least 24 months away before we do that, and probably longer.”

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