Hotels Suffer Record Profit Decline in 2001—Convention Hotels Hit Hardest

The average U.S. hotel suffered a 19.4 percent decline in profits in 2001, according to the 2002 edition of Trends in the Hotel Industry-USA, published by PKF Consulting and the Hospitality Research Group (HRG). The downturn represents the first decline in hotel profitability since 1991, and the largest single-year drop recorded since 1938. Given the firm's projections for a continued decline in hotel revenues in 2002, the average U.S. hotel will be less profitable this year, as well.