Hotels Will Lower Rates in 2009, Ovation Travel Group Predicts
January 16, 2009
After a year of raising rates, three-, four- and five-star hotels will trend toward lowering rates in 2009, predicts New York-based corporate travel management company Ovation Travel Group, which recently released the results of a hotel rate survey in which more than 400 properties worldwide participated. On average, the survey revealed, hotels have lowered their 2009 rates by 4.31 percent compared to their 2008 rates.
Other findings:
• Domestically, 37.1 percent of properties have lowered their 2009 rates—an average of 10.2 percent—while 38 percent have maintained the same rates as 2008.
• The overall domestic average was a decrease in 2009 rates of 3.2 percent.
• Internationally, 35.6 percent of properties have lowered their 2009 rates—an average of 11 percent—while 27.1 percent have maintained the same rates as 2008.
• The overall international average was a decrease in 2009 rates of 4.67 percent.
"These downward trends are not surprising when you consider the current state of the global economy," Ovation Travel Group Chairman and CEO Paul Metselaar said in a statement. "Hospitality industry research groups have been predicting a decrease in 2009 hotel rates and revenue for a while now; what we were able to do internally was survey over 400 properties worldwide with whom we have strong vendor relationships and put real numbers to the 2009 trend. Hopefully these lowered rates will serve as something of a relief to our clients' pocketbooks and help to curb travel costs at this time when belt-tightening has become standard travel policy for many of our corporate clients."
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