U.S. Hotel Recovery Appears to Falter
The Hotel Industry Pulse Index, a sort of GDP indicator for the hotel industry, dropped in September by 2.2 % after inching up 1.6% in August, bringing the the index to a reading of 87.9.

The index was set to equal 100 in 2000.  This points to the uncertainty of the sustainability of the recovery of the U.S. hotel industry, according to Evangelos Simos, chief economist of e-forecasting.com, which produces the report with STR, a major hospitality consulting and forecasting company. (Source: STR).

Work and Personal Life Blend on the Road
Work and personal life meld both at home and on the road, according to a study by Homewood Suites. While 83 percent of extended-stay travelers interviewed for the study, 67 percent have either frequently or “sometimes combined a leisure vacation with a work trip in the past year. Half have done it three times or more. (Source: Homewood Suites).

Car Rental and Rail

Rent Twice From Avis, Get A Free Getaway
Until Jan. 31, Avis Rent A Car customers with an Avis Wizard number who rent twice from Avis Rent A Car will get a rental reward day through the new Avis Free to Get Away promotion.

Customers who complete two qualifying rentals of at least two days by Jan. 31 will receive rental certificate for one free day of time-and-mileage charges on an Avis rental. Issued electronically, Free to Get Away reward certificates can be used toward a weekday, weekend, weekly or monthly rental of a subcompact vehicle through a full-size, four-door car. You can get up to three reward certificates. (Source: Avis).

2011 Business Travel Cost Increases

The American Express Global Business Travel Forecasts predicts that the improving economy will drive hotel rates and airfares up in 2011, while car rental costs will stay flat in most parts of the world. Here are some key findings:

• Travel as a whole has not kept up with the rate of inflation in the U.S.
• Base airfares are 16 percent less than they were in 2000.
• Airlines are making up for that with ancillary fees.
• Oil costs have increased at four times the rate of inflation in the past decade; this will affect travel.
• Domestic economy airfares in North America will increase 2 to 6 percent.
• International business class fares out of North American will increase 3 to 7 percent.
• Midrange hotels will increase 1 to 5 percent, upper range hotels will increase 2 to 6 percent.

Volcano´s Impact on Hotels Balances Out
The Iceland volcano´s impact on European hotels wasn´t all bad, according to Trust International, a major hotel reservations company.

Cancellations increased to a peak on Monday, April 19, to reach more than 50 percent over normal levels. But new reservations also curved upward by more than 25 percent, suggesting travelers were postponing rather than canceling trips altogether.

Hotels witnessed increased levels of guests extending their stays and walk-in bookings as travelers booked hotels after their flights were cancelled, which helped mitigate the effect of the cancellations.

Richard Wiegmann, manager director of Trust International, said that the international hotel industry is in recovery and the outlook for the rest of the year remains promising. (Source Travel Trust press release).

U.S. Hotel Industry Recovery Looks Stronger Than expected
The U.S. hotel industry should do better than initially expected this year, with occupancy increasing by 1.9 percent to 55.8 percent, according to Smith Travel Research.

Next year, STR says occupancy will increase 1.9 percent to a still relatively low 56.8 percent and average daily rates will increase 3.5 percent. The industry won´t be back to levels of 2007 or 2008, but the industry should see 2 good years in a row, said Mark Lomanno, President of STR. (Source: STR press release).

Car & Rail

Avis Tries to Block Hertz-Thrifty Deal
A suitor may throw a wrench into Hertz´ plans to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.

Avis Budget Group told the Dollar Thrifty board that it is prepared to make a substantially higher offer, saying that Avis had several times expressed interest in acquiring Thrifty.

Avis said that the heads of the two companies had had a date to discuss the matter, but Thrifty canceled it when it announced the Hertz deal.

Acquiring Thrifty would move up Hertz by about 300 domestic corporate locations and 1,250 international franchises. (Source: Hertz and Avis press releases).

Airline Security Vs. Privacy

A recent study found Americans are willing to put up with some loss of privacy in return for greater air security.

• 93 percent said they are willing to sacrifice some privacy.
• 65 percent said they would put with full electronic scans
• 57 percent would go through biometric security checks such as iris scans or fingerprints
• 72 percent said they would provide personal data in advance

Source: Unisys Security Index press release.

The industry saw a decent start to the year, but became extremely negative during the past four months. Although occupancies fell, average daily room rtes actually increased by 2.4 percent. STR says the hotel industry will stay at this level for the next few months, but will see some improvements in the second half of the year.

Only two cities saw occupancy go up—New Orleans (8.6 percent) and Houston (2.6 percent). Rates actually went up in many major cities, including Houston (9.4 percent), Denver (6.3 percent), San Francisco (5.4 percent). Ultimately, however, declining occupancies are going to put considerable pressure on hotels to lower their room rates, according to Lodging Econometrics, which covers hotels.
(Source: STR Global press, Lodging Econometrics press release).

Starwood, Hilton Add Bonuses to Loyalty Programs
Starwood is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its Starwood Preferred Guest
program and Hilton is kicking off the 22nd year of Hilton’s HHonors loyalty program. Both are offering bonuses until spring. Starwood is offering members 10,000 bonus Starpoints for every 10 nights stayed now through April 30. Hilton HHonors, whose members can earn points and miles for the same say is offering double base points at the more than 2,400 participating Hilton family hotels through April 6. Register for the program at HiltonHHonors.com/globaldoublepoints.com
(Source: Hilton, Starwood press releases).

Car Rental Avis Budget Introduces Satellite TV in cars You can keep backseat drivers occupied with ATT CruiseCast, a new satellite television service that brings news, family, sports, comedy and music channels to the back seat of your car. Starting later this year, the service will cost $8.95 per day or $62.65 per week. It stores p to there minutes of content so obstructions such as overpasses or tall buildings will not interrupt a program. Channels include MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live, the Disney Channel, Comedy Central and many others.
(Source: Avis Budget press release).

Expense Management in Tough Times

A recent American Express study of Fortune 500 companies and their expense management practices found one of the most effective strategies—and the least expensive to implement—was holding employees accountable for their corporate spending. There were three simple ways,

1. Communicate: make sure employees know what a company’s spending policies are.
2. Educate: tell employees the financial implications, for both employees and the company, for disregarding those policies.
3. Enforce: offer carrots and sticks to encourage employees to adhere to policy.

Source: American Express press release

Hotels in the United Kingdom as well as in Europe overall registered revPAR declines based on sliding occupancy levels.

The hotel construction pipeline grew 28% worldwide at the mid-year point (latest available data) although signs point to a developing fall-off and in the U.S., the number of guestrooms under
construction decreased by 5% in October.
Car Rental
Car Rental Customer Satisfaction Continues to Decline Customer satisfaction with renting cars at airports has declined considerably for a second consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Rental Car Satisfaction Study.

The study looks at six factors: costs and fees, pick-up process, rental car, return process, reservation process and shuttle bus/van.

Overall satisfaction declines significantly from 750 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2007 to 734 in 2008. Staffing and operational cuts are hurting service, according to the study. Enterprise ranked highest for the fifth year in a row, followed by Hertz and Alamo. (Source: J.D. Power press release).

Avis Budget Ups Rates $3 Per Day
Avis Budget Group said it is upping its retail car rental rates by $3 per day and $20 per week at all airport and selected off-airport locations.

The company said the rate increase was a response to escalating costs affecting the car rental industry. Hertz raised its rates in the U.S. and Europe at the end of October. (Source: Avis Budget Press release)

High Lights

Airline baggage fees bug air travelers the most, but many consider general cabin ticket prices and fuel surcharge reasonable, according to a survey by the IBM Institute of Business Value.

• Seventy-eight percent of travelers consider airline baggage fees the biggest rip-off.
• Seventy-six percent considered additional charges to redeem miles another major rip-off.
• But 70 percent called general cabin ticket prices reasonable.
• Half considered fuel surcharges valid.
• Fifty-eight percent prefer to pay the lowest possible ticket price, sacrificing all amenities, including food.

(Source: IBM press release)

Marriott Raleigh City Center Opens The 400-room Raleigh Marriott City Center has opened next to the new 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center. The 16-story hotel is attached to the convention center and has more than 15,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, swimming pool and fitness center. It has two Italian restaurants and a 1,400 square foot Starbucks. (Source: Marriott press release).
Cars
Avis and Budget Offer Flicks to Go
Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car are introducing Flicks-To-Go, portable DVD players that attach
to the back of a car’s headrest. They include a choice of speakers for multiple viewers or two high-quality headphones which customers can keep. (Source: Avis press release).
Record Airfares
If it feels as though you’re paying more for airfare, there´s a reason. The latest American Express Business Travel Monitor reports that domestic and international airfares hit record levels in the second quarter of 2008. The good new is that companies can save money by emphasizing travel policy compliance.

Among the study’s findings:

• The average one-way domestic fare was $260, up $24 from the same period last year, a 10 percent increase, and up $27 from the first quarter, a 12 percent increase.
• The average one-way international fare hit its highest level since the inception of the Business Travel Monitor in 1999. These fares increased 11 percent over the same period last year, averaging $1,080.
• The percentage of international business class tickets dropped to their lowest level since 2004. Increases in the percentage of tickets purchased for the back of the plane indicate that travelers are trading down.

(Source: American Express press release).