Source : usatoday.com
Category : San Diego Vacation Hotels
By : Nancy Trejos
Posted By : Hotels in Virginia Beach North Courtyard
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| San Diego Vacation Hotels |
The U.S. hotel industry, still struggling to fill rooms with groups of business travelers, managed to have a solid first half of the year based on profits and other key indicators.
Inter Continental Hotels Group, the largest hotel group in the world by room numbers, on Tuesday reported a net profit of $341 million for the first half of the year, a nearly 26% jump from $271 million the same time last year.
This comes on the heels of Starwood reporting a 12% increase in net income for the second quarter to $137 million. Marriott had a 25% profit increase in the second quarter to $179 million. Hyatt Hotels beat Wall Street expectations by posting net income of $70 million in the second quarter, compared with $39 million last year. Net income for Wyndham was $133 million in the second quarter, compared with $128 million the same time last year.
The major hotel chains are reporting stronger demand for rooms in many cities across the USA as leisure travel picks up. Individual business travelers are also venturing out again. But looking ahead, hotels are still struggling to attract the ever lucrative group and convention business that some rely so heavily on.
Certain markets, such as Boston and Washington, D.C., have struggled more than others. Budget cuts mandated by the federal government have hit the nation's capital particularly hard.
"The industry generally continues to do well, but you kind of have to look at things segment by segment," says Nikhil Bhalla, vice president of equity research for lodging at FBR & Co. in Arlington, Va. "There are certain segments that have not come back strong in the recovery."
Group spending for Marriott, for instance, makes up about 30% of its business across the country and North America, says Laura Paugh, senior vice president of Investor Relations at Marriott. B
ut she remains optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year. She expects revenue per available room, a key benchmark, to improve 4% to 6% worldwide.
Most other major hotel chains have seen improvement in revenue per available room, occupancy rates, average daily rates and number of rooms that are under construction. On average the occupancy rate nationwide is 61.8% through June of this year, up from 60.9% the same time last year.
IHG, parent company of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, reported revenue per available room growth worldwide of 3.7% for the first half of the year. The company has a total of 4,643 hotels, up 1.7% over last year.
"You've got demand that exceeds supply, which is driving occupancy in certain markets," says Kirk Kinsell, president of the Americas for IHG. "Not all recessions are equal, nor are recoveries and rebounds, but for the most part occupancy levels are much stronger than they were in 2007."
Source:
usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2013/08/06/ihg-starwood-marriott-hyatt-earnings-/2623875/
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