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News ~
Snapshot
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ECONOMIC INSIGHTS ---
UPBEAT
MOOD AT RECENT LODGING CONFERENCE
There
was an upbeat mood at the recent Lodging Conference
2004 as hoteliers agreed that the industry has returned
to business levels of 1999 and 2000. However, a number
of issues still impact the lodging business' future,
including gas prices, the economy, the continued threat
of terrorism, third-party distribution channels, and
rising guest demands. "Everybody is conducting
studies on what guests want, but what are they willing
to pay for is the problem," said Thomas Higgins,
former president and CEO of Best Western International
Inc. "We have to create an experience for today's
more demanding customers by differentiating our products,
enhancing service and value, and making our guests more
loyal, added Trudy Rautio, president of Carlson Hotels,
The Americas, Carlson Hotels Worldwide. Joe Kane, President
and CEO, Days Inn Worldwide, Inc. said that training
costs for hotel leaders of tomorrow must continue to
be a top priority and that more hoteliers should join
major lodging associations that focus on training, "not
just at the property level, but all routes of the lodging
industry." - Hotel Business
CARLSON
WAGONLIT SURVEY RESULTS SHOW OPTIMISTIC TREND
Business looks good this fall, according to the annual
Late Summer/Fall Travel Trends Survey conducted by Carlson
Wagonlit Travel Associates. More than 72% of 313 Carlson
Wagonlit Travel Associates owners, managers and front-line
agents said bookings are higher this year than last,
20% said bookings are about the same as last year, and
only 8% said bookings are lower this year. - Travel
Agent Magazine
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HOTEL HIGHLIGHTS ---
TRAVEL
MARKETERS GET POLITICAL
Enterprising travel marketers are creating
their own election spin with themed promotions. "Marketing
people know that tying promotions to something that's
topical gives them more leverage than talking about
something that's off the radar," says Cornell University
marketing professor Chekitan Dev, trying to find meaning
in offers such as one hotel's Absentee Ballot Special.
Among the hotels offering election-related specials
are: eight Coral Hospitality hotels in Florida and Georgia;
The Don CeSar Beach Resort in St. Petersburg, Fla.;
Washington's Jefferson Hotel; Boston's Fairmont Copley
Plaza Hotel; as well as Site59. - USA
Today
HILTON
GARDEN INN ASKS TRAVELERS, GETS ANSWERS
The first annual Hilton Garden Inn "Ask the Traveler"
survey released today took a deep look into the psyche
of the business traveler, resulting in some surprising
and insightful findings. The survey was administered
at two Hilton Garden Inn properties as a beta test to
determine what business travelers really want. Guests
were asked five questions, ranging from the preferred
newspaper outside the door to how they prefer their
wake-up call in the morning. Among the findings:
* when guest
respondents were asked which item they forget most
often while traveling for business, 31 percent said
a cell phone charger. Approximately 21 percent cited
a razor as the most forgotten item, followed by 19
percent who said toothpaste.
* Guests were
asked what type of beverage they would like available
in the room, and the leading answer was bottled water
with 54 percent. Runner-ups included coffee and soda
with 15 percent of the vote, and tea at four percent.
* As the preferred
newspaper outside of a guest's door, USA Today won
out with 42 percent of the vote, followed by the local
paper at 27 percent, The Wall Street Journal at 11
percent and The New York Times at 10 percent.
* How Do Guests
Want to Be Woken Up? 30 percent of those surveyed
requested an automated wake-up call. Some 25 percent
of respondents chose being awoken by an alarm clock,
and 22 percent chose a personal wake-up call. And,
almost 23 percent didn't want to be woken up at all.
---
AIR TRAVEL TRENDS ---
LOW FARES
GO TRANSATLANTIC WITH AER LINGUS FLIGHT PLANS
In a breakthrough among international airlines, Ireland's
major carrier has announced that it is adopting a low-fare
formula for transatlantic service. In a bid to attract
more business travelers, says USA Today, Aer Lingus
will become the first established airline to apply pricing
strategies of discounters such as Southwest and America
West to transcontinental travel. The Aer Lingus plan
is to cap one-way, unrestricted coach fares - tickets
typically bought by business travelers - at $503 each
way from any of the five cities it serves in the USA
to Ireland. Round-trip purchase is not required. Previously,
the same fares ran as high as $838. The carrier will
also simplify charges by throwing out the requirement
for a Saturday-night stay for the lowest available fare.
In addition, business-class fares will be reduced by
as much as 60%. The price of an unrestricted ticket
in business class from Los Angeles to Dublin falls to
$1,504 from $3,695 each way. From New York, it will
go to $1,304 from $2,272. - Marketing and Tourism
Trends newsletter
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INTERNATIONAL INFO ---
WTO SHOWS
RUSSIA IN TOP 10 DESTINATIONS
Based on the results of 2003 Russia has made it into
the top 10 most visited countries, according to data
provided by the World Tourism Organization. With 20.2
million foreign visitors Russia ranked seventh behind
France (76.5 million), Spain (49.5 million), the United
States (45.4 million), Italy (38.9 million) and China
(33 million). The WTO rating is based on instances of
border crossings by foreign tourists. In terms of profits
made from servicing tourists the list is led by the
United States, which earned $68.4 billion in 2003. They
are followed by France ($29.3B), Spain ($27.3B), Italy
($24.4B) and Great Britain ($19.2B). Russia came only
16th, with earnings of almost $6.3B. The citizens of
United States were also on top in terms of spending
abroad. Last year they spent more than $58 billion on
travel. Germans spent almost $47.5B, British citizens-
$34.3B, Japanese- $28.7B and Spanish- $21.5B. Russian
tourists were 13th in this list, having spent $7.6B
at foreign resorts.
TOURISM
IN CHINA PROJECTED TO REACH $40 BILLION BY 2010
ResearchandMarkets.com
predicts that China's tourism sector will earn US$14
billion of foreign exchange in 2010 while domestic tourism
revenue is projected to reach US$31 billion. By then,
tourism revenue will account for 5% of China's GDP.
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BIZ/LEISURE TRAVEL ---
TRADE SHOW
INDUSTRY RECOVERY AROUND CORNER SAYS TSEA
According to a just released survey by the Trade Show
Exhibitors Association of its members "The TSEA
Exhibit Management Survey," conducted in partnership
with Tradeshow Week Custom Research, 35 percent of TSEA
members report attendance at "key exhibitions"
is back to year 2000 levels, while another 23 percent
expect an attendance recovery between now and the end
of June 2005. In addition, 81 percent of those surveyed
are confident that their trade shows' return on investment
will increase in 2004 versus 2003. The study also reveals
that the average 2004 event and exhibition budget is
$1,335,220, with exhibit space being the largest line
item, accounting for 33 percent of the 2004 expenditures.
74% of those polled say their exhibit programs are integrated
with their organization's advertising and/or strategic
marketing message.
CIC GETS
ACCEPTED PRACTICES APPROVAL
At its 2004 annual meeting the Convention Industry Council
(CIC) unanimously approved accepted practices from the
APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange) initiative's Resumes
& Work Orders Panel, making this the third series
of practices to be established by the initiative. Accepted
practices have also been approved in the areas of terminology
and history/post-event reporting. The Resumes &
Work Orders panel was charged with developing recommended
accepted practices for preparing and sharing complete
instructions and details for meetings, conventions and
other events.
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ONLINE ISSUES ---
Click
Here to go to eConnect,
log in, and connect today and access the exclusive HSMAI
Member Only areas.. The first-ever, all-encompassing,
online source for information, research, contacts and
best practices, eConnect
is an HSMAI Foundation program hosted by the University
of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College.
New in
eConnect, information on research from:
»
Market Research - Marketing
contact list: Marketing Leads and Contacts - Nationwide
» Hoover's - Budget
& Economy Motels: Financial Analysis Profiles
» Pricewaterhouse Coopers - Economic
Impact of the U.S. Timeshare Industry 2004
» Government Per Diem Rates - 2005
Rates
And new supplier links to:
» Real Magnet - Email
Marketing
TRAVELCLICK
SAYS INTERNET RES AT CROs GREW 28%
TravelCLICK's first half results from the
company's eTRAK report, shows Internet reservations
received at the central reservation offices (CROs) of
the major hotel brands grew 28% in the first half of
2004 versus the same time period in 2003. The report
noted that brand Web sites were the source of 73% of
the brands' centrally booked Internet reservations.
The Q1 and Q2 2004 eTRAK report highlights the continued
dramatic growth of electronic hotel bookings and the
continuing importance of GDS e-commerce for hotel brands
and chains. Despite the impressive growth of the Internet,
eTRAK shows that 36% of CRO reservations come through
GDS channels, while Internet sites contribute 30%. Results
from this study may differ from overall hospitality
industry trends on the Internet and GDS because eTRAK
reflects only the performance of 30 major brands. The
30 major brands participating in this survey reported
that, on average, 22% percent of their CRO reservations
were received from their brand web site in the first
half of 2004, while 4% of CRO reservations were sourced
from third party retail Internet sites and 3% from merchant
sites. Slightly more than one-third, or 34%, of CRO
reservations were made via phone.
MARRIOTT
LAUNCHES WEB SITE FOR TRAVEL AGENTS
Marriott International has a newly designed travel agent
Web site www.Marriott.com/travelagents,
which offers Preferred Travel Agencies direct commission
deposit, research capabilities and access to online
commission statements 24 hours a day. Other new additions
include a brand comparison tool. - Travel Agent
Magazine
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