Hotel rates for leisure and business travellers will continue to decline in the US in 2010/11 before a rebound in 2012, says US-based PKF Hospitality Research.
Hotels will continue to drop their rates to fill vacancies as the fall-out of the global financial crisis continues to discourage leisure and corporate travel in the US.
PKF forecasts a 1.4% drop in the average daily rate this year, with the greatest amount of discounting occurring at the luxury end of corporate travel hotel accommodation.
A few markets will recover earlier, with RevPAR possibly increasing 6% in Newark, Boston, Anaheim, Oahu and Salt Lake City this year.
Conversely, the biggest drop in RevPAR is likely to occur in Phoenix, Austin, Houston and Washington DC due to room rate discounts for leisure and business travellers of more than 2% in these states.
Regenerated incomes and employment by 2012 will have a positive impact on the hotel industry, with PKF forecasting RevPAR to grow by 10.5% per annum – the first double digit growth for several decades.
Groups and incentives organisers, BCD Travel, advises Australian companies to consider overseas destinations like the US for meetings incentives conferences exhibitions in 2010 due to excellent post-GFC deals on corporate travel and accommodation.