The global hotel investment market experienced a strong first three quarters with transaction volumes reaching US$12 billion, a significant 60% increase over the same period in 2009, according to Jones Lang La Salle Hotels.
Europe, Middle East and North Africa was the most active region for the first three quarters of the year, recording US$5.2 billion of hotel sales (+46% year-over-year). However, the pace of recovery was strongest in the Americas, where volumes increased 179% compared to the same period in 2009 to total US$4.8 billion. Investment volumes in Asia/Pacific, the region least impacted by the global economic downturn, remained strong at US$1.9 billion.
Expedia, everyone’s favorite online travel agency, reported third-quarter gross bookings increased 17% compared with the third quarter of 2009, driven primarily by 14% growth in transactions, a 9% increase in average airfares and a 4% increase in hotel average daily rates. Domestic bookings increased 16% and international bookings increased 17% (22% excluding foreign exchange).
Worldwide hotel revenue increased 14% for the third quarter because of a 14% increase in roomnights stayed, including rooms delivered as a component of packages. Revenue per roomnight remained essentially flat.
The company also reported that within the quarter, Expedia Partner Services Group signed global agreements with several notable hotel companies: Wyndham Hotel Group; Magnuson Hotels; and Japanese chain JAL Hotels.
Financial obstacles have caused maintenance budget strategy changes, reports HotelNewsNow.com’s Shawn A. Turner.
The hotel industry’s finance executives are starting to rethink budget strategies as it relates to renovations and general maintenance upkeep.
Nails and hammers were put on the backburner as the recession lingered on, but property maintenance work has become more of a front-of-mind issue as the industry’s metrics have started to look up.
Also, Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell today discusses the banking point of view on CapEx.
The euro area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% during September 2010, compared with 10% during August, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. It was 9.8% during September 2009.
The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in September 2010, unchanged compared with August. It was 9.3% in September 2009.
Compared with August, the number of people unemployed increased by 71,000 in the EU27 and by 67,000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2009, unemployment rose by 0.656 million in the EU27 and by 0.424 million in the euro area.
The United States economy had a small acceleration in the third quarter as consumer spending picked up, the Commerce Department reported.
Real gross domestic product rose at a 2% annualized rate during the third quarter, up from a 1.7% increase during the second quarter. The big story for the third quarter was in the consumer sector, where spending rose to a 2.6% rate, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2006.
Compiled by Stacey Higgins.
