According to this article, the news from the American Hotel & Lodging Association recently was, basically, let the good times roll for hoteliers.
For example, Mark Lomanno, president of Smith Travel Research said, "The demand side of lodging is coming back and it is coming back quickly." For example, March 2004’s occupancy rate of 69.8 percent is even higher than its June 1996 peak of 64.9 percent.
Bjorn Hanson, group industry leader, hospitality and leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd., is reported in the article as saying that "average daily rooms sold is expected to grow 4.6% this year and then 2.3% in 2005; end-of-year room supply is expected to be up 1.4% this year and 1.6% in 2005; occupancy for 2004 should come in at 61.2% and rise to 61.7% next year; average daily rate is projected to increase 1.9% this year and then jump another 3% in 2005; and RevPAR is expected to rise 5.2% in 2004 and 3.9% in 2004."
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