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A regular service of Smith travel research
Barometer of Hotel-Room Revenue $20
A regular service of
Total U.S. Hotel Sales, 1997 Total = $19,112
Total= $19,200
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Smith Travel Research The year 1997 has started about on track for the U.S. lodging industry 15 (based on past performance).A comparison of room revenues for the first ¢1 four months of the new year and the o expected results based on trends of the __'-past seven years is shown in the accompawing chart. The Easter holidays fell ¢~ in March this year, and the impact on '~ 10revenues in March and April is apparent. Travel for business purposes is low during the week preceding Easter Sunday, and revenues for March thus o fell below anticipated levels. 0 IKoom occupancy for the first four I~ g months of the year was only slightly 5 g (0.2 percent)ahead of last year, the clp smallest change since 1991.The rise of g nearly 3 percent in rooms sold (de.t= mand) was offset by an equal increase E ¢fJ in rooms available (supply). Although ~6 room rates continued their increase, the average for the period was nearly 0 o 1 percent below the level that would Actual Estimate have been expected based on past trends. The continued development o f new hotels in markets where there has been no apparent increase in demand is still of grave concern. If the present trend continues, room revenue for 1997 will probably not exceed $60.2 billion. That is $500 million below our original expectation. Even so, such a sales level would mean the best year for the lodging industry that we have yet reported.--Randell Smith and John D. Lesure RH
m
Mountain Restaurants Offer a BATH In addition to presenting ratings of 1,170 restaurants compiled from more than 1,400 diners, the •997 Zagat Survey oflKocky Mountain restaurants offers a cogent market snapshot. The edition covers restaurants in Colorado, where the opening of Coors Field in Denver has sparked a b o o m of more than 60 restaurants in 23 blocks, and Utah, where the prospect of winter Olympic games in 2002 has encouraged a renaissance o f international concepts in Salt Lake City. Editors Bill St.John and Ann Orton point to the success of restaurants that offer customers a B A T H - - a better alternative to home. BATH restaurants offer relatively low menu prices and are family-friendly establishments that typically feature regional produce and meats in menu items. In Denver, for instance, regionally popular foodstuffs include Anasazi beans, Olathe sweet corn, quinoa, and bison. O n the other hand, restaurateurs in Salt Lake City, with an eye on
8
I~R~t[L HOTELANDRESTAURANTADMINISTRATIONQUARTERLY
Olympic spectators, have opened concepts ranging from Afghan to Vietnamese, with "island fusion" and "eclectic" along the way. Colorado and Utah residents on average dine out four times more frequently than people on the coasts, possibly because the average cost of a meal in the mountain region is less than $18, while the average per-person cost in San Francisco is $25.55 and the average NewYork patron has to shell out $29.28. Zagat's reviewers are a diverse group of self-selected consumers. This year's R o c k y Mountain reviewers included a tow-truck operator, a bookbinder, a massage therapist, and a cytogeneticist, along with the usual run of physicians, lawyers, and small-business owners. Retailing for $9.95, the Zagat survey book is published by Nina a n d T i m Zagat, 4 Columbus Circle, NewYork, N Y 10019.--G. W.
A regular service of
Total U.S. Hotel Sales, 1997 Total = $19,112
Total= $19,200
-
Smith Travel Research The year 1997 has started about on track for the U.S. lodging industry 15 (based on past performance).A comparison of room revenues for the first ¢1 four months of the new year and the o expected results based on trends of the __'-past seven years is shown in the accompawing chart. The Easter holidays fell ¢~ in March this year, and the impact on '~ 10revenues in March and April is apparent. Travel for business purposes is low during the week preceding Easter Sunday, and revenues for March thus o fell below anticipated levels. 0 IKoom occupancy for the first four I~ g months of the year was only slightly 5 g (0.2 percent)ahead of last year, the clp smallest change since 1991.The rise of g nearly 3 percent in rooms sold (de.t= mand) was offset by an equal increase E ¢fJ in rooms available (supply). Although ~6 room rates continued their increase, the average for the period was nearly 0 o 1 percent below the level that would Actual Estimate have been expected based on past trends. The continued development o f new hotels in markets where there has been no apparent increase in demand is still of grave concern. If the present trend continues, room revenue for 1997 will probably not exceed $60.2 billion. That is $500 million below our original expectation. Even so, such a sales level would mean the best year for the lodging industry that we have yet reported.--Randell Smith and John D. Lesure RH
m
Mountain Restaurants Offer a BATH In addition to presenting ratings of 1,170 restaurants compiled from more than 1,400 diners, the •997 Zagat Survey oflKocky Mountain restaurants offers a cogent market snapshot. The edition covers restaurants in Colorado, where the opening of Coors Field in Denver has sparked a b o o m of more than 60 restaurants in 23 blocks, and Utah, where the prospect of winter Olympic games in 2002 has encouraged a renaissance o f international concepts in Salt Lake City. Editors Bill St.John and Ann Orton point to the success of restaurants that offer customers a B A T H - - a better alternative to home. BATH restaurants offer relatively low menu prices and are family-friendly establishments that typically feature regional produce and meats in menu items. In Denver, for instance, regionally popular foodstuffs include Anasazi beans, Olathe sweet corn, quinoa, and bison. O n the other hand, restaurateurs in Salt Lake City, with an eye on
8
I~R~t[L HOTELANDRESTAURANTADMINISTRATIONQUARTERLY
Olympic spectators, have opened concepts ranging from Afghan to Vietnamese, with "island fusion" and "eclectic" along the way. Colorado and Utah residents on average dine out four times more frequently than people on the coasts, possibly because the average cost of a meal in the mountain region is less than $18, while the average per-person cost in San Francisco is $25.55 and the average NewYork patron has to shell out $29.28. Zagat's reviewers are a diverse group of self-selected consumers. This year's R o c k y Mountain reviewers included a tow-truck operator, a bookbinder, a massage therapist, and a cytogeneticist, along with the usual run of physicians, lawyers, and small-business owners. Retailing for $9.95, the Zagat survey book is published by Nina a n d T i m Zagat, 4 Columbus Circle, NewYork, N Y 10019.--G. W.