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--- ECONOMIC INSIGHTS---
YPB&R TRAVEL MONITOR SHOWS TRAVEL BACK AT 1999 LEVELS
The percentage of adult Americans who have taken at least one overnight trip of more than 75 miles from home has risen to the highest level observed since 1999 according to the Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell/Yankelovich Partners 2005 National Leisure Travel Monitor . According to this closely-watched barometer of the travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans, fully 58% of American adults took such a trip during the past 12 months (up from 49% last year), of which one third took at least one trip primarily for business and 93% took at least one trip primarily for pleasure.
RESULTS OF YPB&R NATIONAL LEISURE TRAVEL MONITOR
Among other things, the survey revealed: -- 68% of adults took at least one leisure trip with a spouse or another adult, while 37% took at least one trip with children (a significant increase from the percentage observed last year), and fully 26% took at least one vacation alone;
-- Weekend vacations (4 nights or less including a Saturday) reign as the most popular and now represent 56% of all vacations taken by Americans, although there has been an increase in the incidence of vacations lasting more than five nights;
-- 30% of adults are planning to take fewer vacations in the year ahead (roughly equivalent to the percentage observed last year), and "not able to get away from my job/work" is the most frequently-cited reason why;
-- Trips that include a naturalistic element remain very popular, with the incidence of beach/lake vacations rising significantly over the previous year (cited by an estimated 27% of leisure travelers, up from 21% last year);
-- 20% of active travelers took an international trip during the previous 12 months, although 60% say they are less likely to take such a trip in the year ahead if the U.S. dollar continues to decline against other major world currencies;
-- Florida (40%), California (36%), Hawaii (22%), New York (19%), Colorado (17%) and Nevada (17%) remain the states U.S. adults say they would like to visit most during the next two years;
-- National parks now top the list of specific destinations of interest to American leisure travelers (66%), followed by the Neighbor Islands of Hawaii (63%), Honolulu (59%), the Florida Keys (53%), the mountain resorts of Colorado (46%) and Lake Tahoe (46%). New York City is mentioned by 45% of adults, Orlando by 44% and Las Vegas by 43%.
STUDY FINDS INTERNET FIRMLY IN PLACE FOR TRAVEL RESEARCH
One of the most interesting headlines to come out of the analysis of our 2005 data is that consumers' view of the manner in which they use the Internet as a medium through which to plan, shop for and purchase travel services is changing. Almost half (47%) of all leisure travelers now report having booked a reservation online (up from 38% two years ago). Fully three quarters (75%) of those have booked a hotel reservation and almost two thirds (65%) have purchased an airline ticket. Although these incidence measures reflect continued growth in the utilization of the medium, the data also reveal that consumers increasingly view the Internet as a medium that enables them to compare prices before they make a booking offline. Fully one third now check prices online before calling a travel agent to make a reservation. The Internet is now used exclusively for vacation planning purposes by 56% of all leisure travelers who are active hotel and airline users, whereas 23% consult both travel agents and the Internet and 10% rely exclusively on travel agents.
RISE IN BUSINESS TRAVEL ACCOUNTS FOR INCREASED DEMAND
A pickup in business travel accounted for half of the 4.5 percent increase in demand for hotel rooms in 2004, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study. The business travel recovery accounted for an additional 110,000 rooms rented daily in the year ended Sept. 30, the study said. For 2005, the consulting firm predicts business demand for rooms will inch up 0.8 percent, a slowdown from the 2.3 percent increase last year. Luxury and upscale lodgings got more than their share of the growth in the business travel segment, the study said. "Upscale" hotels account for 9 percent of business travel demand, and growth in the segment was 17 percent last year, the study said. - Hotel Marketing.com
CALIFORNIA REAPS BENEFITS FROM REBOUNDING ECONOMY
The California travel industry continues to reap the benefits of a rebounding economy as figures for 2004 reflect an upsurge in direct travel spending. Total spending in California from visitors was $82.5 billion in 2004, an increase of 7.4 percent from 2003 and the largest gain since 2000.
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PWC PROJECTS RISING HOTEL RATES FOR ROOMS, SERVICES
At a time when many buyers already are having trouble finding the hotel room coverage in key cities midweek, the availability outlook is expected to tighten further through the remainder of 2005 and into 2006, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Bjorn Hanson, head of PwC's hospitality and leisure practice, attributed the situation to increasing occupancy rates, which have allowed hotels to raise daily rates significantly. "Hotels believe the balance of power for negotiations has reversed from what it was in 2001 to 2003," Hanson said. Meanwhile, hotels continue to seek additional revenue from hotel services, fees which buyers were able to eliminate through negotiations during the past few years. "Costs for hotel services will rise at an even faster pace than room rates," Hanson said. As examples, he cited increased early arrival and departure charges, higher cancellation fees and automatic gratuities for housekeepers and bellmen. PwC forecasted that average daily rate in 2005 would jump 4.3 percent, following a 3.9 percent increase in 2004. It expects rates to rise another 4.6 percent in 2006. - Hotel Marketing .com
STARWOOD ANNOUNCES WEB-BASED MEETING TOOL
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced Starwood Meetings in a Moment ( www.meetingsinamoment.com ). The tool will allow planners to find the right venue and meeting room for small, single-day meetings accommodating up to 25 attendees. According to Starwood, with just a few mouse clicks planners can order food and beverage and audiovisual items for the meeting, and a hotel meetings expert will then confirm within one business day of when the meeting is booked. Planners may reserve a room a maximum of 30 days in advance or in as little as two business days prior to the time of the meeting. It is scheduled to roll out in 60 Starwood locations throughout the U.S. and Canada throughout 2005. - Meetings Media --- AIR TRAVEL TRENDS---
UNITED URGES AGENCIES TO USE ALTERNATIVE GDSs
United recently conducted a meeting with some 40 agencies and 30 corporate accounts, urging them to explore use of start-up alternative GDSs, including G2 Switchworks, ITA Software and FareLogix. United said it was considering paying early adopters of the GNEs (GDS new entrants) inducements of around $5 per ticket to replace lost incentives if agencies and corporations move some of their volume to the start-ups. United stated that the inducements would be temporary, ending when some 20% of United's volumes were going through the low-cost start-ups.
AMERICAN WILL SELL FOOD ON SOME DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
American will begin selling $3 snack boxes and $5 sandwiches in the main cabin of about 600 select domestic flights on Feb. 1. It will allow passengers to purchase the food on flights of more than three hours. American said it will save about $30 million a year under the program.
ARC REPORTS 7% GAIN IN AIRLINE SALES FOR 2004
The Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) reported healthy numbers for the end of 2004 and the year as a whole. Total sales settled through ARC were slightly less than $66 billion, the company said-a 7 percent increase over 2003 and the highest year-end result since 2001. According to ARC, that result is attributable to consistent growth in international fares, which completed the year up 19 percent. In addition, ARC said, there was a 5 percent growth in transactions, and average weekly sales per location for the year as a whole exceeded $50,000 for the first time in 2004. For December 2004, transactions were 9 percent over December 2003. - Travel Agent Magazine
--- BIZ/LEISURE TRAVEL--- BUSINESS TRAVEL SURVEY SHOWS NEED FOR INTEGRATED SERVICES
A new survey commissioned by Orbitz for Business and Travelport, both subsidiaries of Cendant, found that American business travelers want new, integrated online services from their corporate travel agency that go beyond the simple ability to self-book air, hotel and a rental car online. Conducted by Harris Interactive in late February and early March, the survey sought to measure business traveler opinion of how booking and managing travel can be more productive. The survey identifies areas where innovative new services can be introduced to increase employee use and corporate savings. More than half (56%) of business travelers said that logistical challenges such as knowing where to go at their destination after arriving, changing travel plans on the road or finding a good place to eat were the most difficult to manage while on a business trip; 33% of business travelers said the ability to change, re-book and obtain travel alerts via cell phone, PDA, or Blackberry are the most valuable to making business travel as productive as possible. More than one-fourth (27%) of business travelers value a one-stop-shop for booking travel services beyond air, rental car and hotel -- such as event tickets, dinner reservations and others. - Modern Agent Travel Pulse Daily
MEETINGS RATE HIGH WITH ASSOCIATION CEOS
Nearly 97 percent of association chief executives rate meetings as more important to their organizations than any other function except for their own executive management. That was the result of a survey released by the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). When asked to identify functions important to the mission and revenue of their organizations, 96.7 percent of CEOs rated meetings and events as "important" or "very important," ranking ahead of membership development, education, communications, publications, and legislative and regulatory affairs. The results also show that meeting professionals are highly rated and valued for their expertise in a number of critical areas. -- Meeting News
CIC TO RELEASE IMPACT STUDY ON MEETING INDUSTRY
It's been more than 10 years since the Convention Industry Council conducted a study on the economic impact of the meeting industry. But CIC will soon release a report that uncovers the size of the industry's economic impact in North America . It will determine total direct spending, number of people employed, and tax revenues generated as a result of meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and incentive travel. It will also break down spending, taxes, and employment by industry segment and look at the effect on air travel and hotels. The idea, says Mary Power, president and chief executive officer of CIC, McLean , Va. , is to present a big-picture view for those both inside and outside the industry. "We support so many other industries, and yet no one can really look at a number [for economic impact]," says Power. - MeetingsNet Extra
CHICAGO TOPS LIST FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS IN RECENT SURVEY
Accenture surveyed more than 550 business travelers and discovered that Chicago moved to the top of a list of U.S. cities to which business travelers plan to go over the next six months. The other most-frequently visited cities, in descending order are New York , Washington , San Francisco , Los Angeles , Atlanta and Dallas . Mid-range hotels are making a comeback. More than three-quarters (81 percent) of respondents said they use mid-range hotels as their primary accommodation for business travel, up from 56 percent last year. In contrast, only 10 percent of respondents said they use budget chain hotels as their primary accommodation, down from 25 percent last year. The greatest number of respondents, 33 percent, ranked proximity to meetings or office as the top requirement in their choice of hotel rooms. Only 15 percent cited the availability of high-speed or wireless internet as one of their main criterion. --- CRUISE NEWS---
CARIBBEAN CRUISE CAPACITY CALM
Caribbean cruise capacity will stay flat in 2005, compared to 2004 when it was up 5 percent. In 2003 it was up 13 percent and 2002, 16 percent. According to estimates by Cruise Industry News, cruise ships will be able to carry 6.5 million passengers in the Caribbean (including the Bahamas , but excluding Panama Canal cruises) this year. But the Caribbean continues to attract more cruise traffic than any other region and will have 52 percent of the worldwide passenger capacity in 2005. The North American passenger capacity will approximately 6.1 million passengers in 2005 compared to 6.1 million in 2004, while the European capacity will be slightly down .--Cruise Industry News
--- ONLINE ISSUES ---
NEW DOT-TRAVEL DOMAINS BECOME REALITY
Dot-travel became an officially sanctioned top-level domain akin to dot-com and dot-net when the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) voted to give its approval. The approval clears the way for New York-based Tralliance Corp. to launch the registry for the new top-level domain (TLD) later this year. Tralliance, a for-profit company, has been underwriting the registry's development and will provide day-to-day management. One of its big plans is to create a database of the dot-travel registrants and an easy way for consumers to search the database. - Hotel Marketing.com
HOTEL WEB SITES TAKE CONTROL OF VACATION BUSINESS
Many airline and hotel Web sites, including Starwood, Marriott and Hilton are taking greater control of their vacation businesses, and are attempting to mimic online agencies in their breadth of offerings. Throw in ground tours, theater tickets and some more functionality, and supplier sites could be on the road to resembling online agencies. Over the last couple of years, many supplier Web sites have gained the upper hand over online agencies as consumers' booking venues of choice. And the proliferation of travel-search engines, from Yahoo's FareChase to the AOL-Kayak venture, could further the look-here-first appeal of supplier Web sites. JetBlue's move also suggests that a lot more disintermediation is in the offing, with airlines, hotel chains and car rental companies opting to work directly with other suppliers rather than ceding control to third parties. The trend could put more pressure on online agencies, which see the growth of their dynamic-packaging businesses as strategic. With hotels having become mighty possessive about merchant-model inventory, the online agencies see dynamic packages as a key way to make ample margins. - Travel Weekly
SURVEY: BUSINESS TRAVELERS USE INTERNET AS PRIMARY SOURCE
Almost three-quarters of U.S. business travelers use the Internet as their primary means of arranging their business travel, according to results of a survey released by Accenture . The survey of more than 550 business travelers in the United States found that 71 percent book their business travel primarily online, a trend that has been increasing in the three years since Accenture began fielding the survey. In contrast, only 22 percent of respondents reported that their preferred booking method is by telephone with a live agent, down from 36 percent in 2003. Additionally, the vast majority (87 percent) of respondents said they have used airport kiosks to check in, and more than two-thirds (69 percent) of those who have used the kiosks said they did so largely for their convenience.
ACCOR HOTELS WILL PUT INVENTORY ON PRICELINE.COM
Priceline.com has reached an agreement with Paris-based Accor Hotels to be the preferred opaque distribution partner for a selection of Accor hotels (mainly under the brands Sofitel, Novotel and Mercure) throughout Europe. - HotelMarketing.com
EXPEDIA INTRODUCES TRIP CONTROLLER FOR CORPORATE TRAVEL
Expedia Corporate Travel introduced TripController, an on-demand pre-trip approval and auditing solution for corporate travel customers. Robust and customizable, TripController is built into EPX, Expedia Corporate Travel's technology platform, and offers companies options for automated trip approval along with highly configurable auditing features. - HotelMarketing.com
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 --- ASSOCIATION NOTES---
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS NOMINATIONS OPEN
Nominations are now open for HSMAI's two lifetime achievement awards for 2005, the Albert E. Koehl Award that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advertising in the hospitality industry, and the Winthrop W. Grice Award that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to public relations in the hospitality industry. If you would like to nominate a candidate for one or both of these awards, please send his/her name, position and affiliation, along with reasons as to why you believe your candidate qualifies for consideration for these awards by fax or email to the HSMAI Koehl/Grice Selection Committee. The fax number is 617-927-7620 and the email address is irma@irmainc.com . The deadline for nominations is May 29, 2005.
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