Hotel companies were hit especially hard in financial crisis but, ironically, they are now seeing some benefits from it – at least in the US.
InterContinental Hotels, owner of the Holiday Inn brand, yesterday reported quarterly revenue per room up 6.7 per cent in the Americas, where the company generates nearly half of its sales. This follows a good showing from Hyatt, which has three-quarters of its rooms in the US. By contrast, Marriottlast month warned of softer demand growth in the Middle East and Asia.
The US economy has performed better than its developed-world peers. But that is only part of the story: the other half is constrained supply. Room demand in the US rebounded after the credit crisis. Funding for new hotel construction did not. Lenders have long considered hotels risky borrowers because their inventory needs to be resold daily. The tightening of credit since the crisis has only exacerbated this anxiety. According to Baird and STR, growth in total rooms sold in the US has outstripped growth in available rooms by 4 per cent over the past year, down from a high of more than 6 per cent last year but still near pre-crisis peaks. That helps occupancy, rates and stock prices.