The median sale price per room of hotels in the United States declined by over 40% between year-to-date October 2008 and year-to-date October 2009. The dramatic decline is a result of the economic recession and the fact that there was a much smaller pool of actual sales. The decline indicates the need for property owners and assessors to continually analyze values of hotels in markets throughout the United States which have probably declined since the last valuation by the assessment authorities.

The previous two parts of the Global Insights series on sustainable development as a profit partner dealt more with the implementation and identification of sustainable principles in rooms/facility management and in the areas of food and beverage, meetings and events.

Eighteen (18) hotel waterpark resorts opened in the US in 2009, despite higher unemployment, a stand-still construction industry and a lack of bank loans for commercial real estate construction. Although 7 projects were pushed into next year and beyond, 18 waterpark hotels with 4,267 rooms managed to open in 2009 compared to 24 openings in 2008 and 34 in 2007 --- due to securing financing before the economic slide began.

Making use of basic business principles is smart business, and sustainable development relies on basic business principles. Furthermore, sustainable development requires communication of your intentions and attitudes, actions, successes and failures.

Sustainable hotel operations are responsible and profitable hotel operations. How so, you might wonder, since it is a common myth that sustainable also is more expensive? Responsible operations means you and your organization are doing what you can to make the bottom line better for all stakeholders—making it profitable for all concerned. You continue to run the hotel with the basic business principles of minimizing costs, increasing productivity and profitability, deleting waste and obtaining access to capital at a lower cost because those principles are also basic to sustainability. But sustainable development goes further and deeper; it becomes a value-creating model if it is planned and implemented well and suitable to the realities of the individual hospitality operation.

Celebration of Excellence | The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute honored the 2009 recipients of the Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) Emeritus and Master Hotel Supplier (MHS) Emeritus designations at its Annual Celebration of Excellence Breakfast recently during the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York.

Much has been written and discussed about the restrictions placed on physicians attending pharmaceutical and other life-science industry corporation training and educational programs, in particular, at high-end resorts throughout North America. It’s no wonder then that many resort operators have limited drastically or even abandoned altogether pursing this lucrative and highly coveted business.

Many studies conducted at different times have shown the tourist’s profile doesn’t remain stable. On the contrary, it’s characterized by very dynamic features. Several studies also have concluded these features are created and shaped by the socioeconomic conditions individuals experience.

The worldwide hotel industry should buckle its safety belt as it prepares for a bumpy ride during the next year or two as the global economy begins to regain its footing. Members of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants learned—during a panel called “What is the economic outlook for the global hospitality industry” at their annual convention last week—because most elements of a recovery will occur day-to-day, getting back on their feet could be a painstakingly slow process for hotels.

I recently attended a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta that focused on issues confronting commercial real estate. While it gave me an opportunity to speak directly to the banking community about some of the financing problems in the lodging sector, I found the session fascinating for several reasons. While STR focuses primarily on hotels and the economic trends that affect travel, hearing about problems confronting other types of commercial real estate was enlightening. The first number that got everyone’s attention was the $1.5 trillion estimate of debt maturities on CRE during the next 18 to 24 months. The big question is where does the money needed to refinance these maturities come from? If banks aren’t lending much money to CRE at this point, why would they start lending as this debt comes due?