“Marriott Hotels at Sandestin's Grand Boulavard earn prestigious Florida Green Lodging Certificates (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)” plus 2 more

Marriott Hotels at Sandestin's Grand Boulavard earn prestigious Florida Green Lodging Certificates (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Marriott International Inc. and Red ... (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
Atlantic City Hotel & Lodging Association Hosts its Empire Gala on the Boardwalk Annual Dinner Dance at Tropicana ... (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)

Marriott Hotels at Sandestin's Grand Boulavard earn prestigious Florida Green Lodging Certificates (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 06:41 AM PST

DESTIN, FL, March 2 /PRNewswire/ - The Residence Inn by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott both earned a Green Lodging Certificate from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The certificates recognize the hotels' efforts to be more environmentally friendly.

The Florida Green Lodging Program is a voluntary initiative of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that designates and recognizes lodging facilities that make a commitment to conserve and protect Florida's natural resources.

To earn their Green Lodging Certificate the Residence Inn and Courtyard had to meet requirements in six areas of operations including communication, waste reductions, water conservation, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and transportation.

The recognition will help drive business for both hotels by being able to host group business that can only stay with facilities with the certification. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will also promote both hotels on their website.

For more information about the Marriott Residence Inn visit www.marriott.com/vpsri, for Marriott Courtyard visit www.marriott.com/vpscy.

The Residence Inn and the Courtyard Sandestin at Grand Boulevard are located at the gates of the 2,400-acre Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. Welcoming guests to a stunning setting on the scenic Gulf Coast, these Marriott hotels offer all the privileges of the resort including private beach access, spa services, shopping, eateries/nightlife and marina access, via resort tram service. Residence Inn hotel suites feature full kitchens and separate living and sleeping areas. Residence Inn offers free Wi-Fi and is pet-friendly. Each hotel has a beautifully landscaped outdoor pool, hot tub and fitness center. The Residence Inn offers a complimentary hot breakfast buffet each morning and complimentary social hours on select evenings. Discounted breakfast rates are offered at the Courtyard additionally enjoy a full service bar open nightly.

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Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Marriott International Inc. and Red ... (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zacks.com releases the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Hotels & Lodging Industry, including Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) and Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH).

A synopsis of today's Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/31102/Hotels+%26amp%3B+Lodging+Stock+Review+-+March+2010.

Hotels & Lodging Stock Review – March 2010

The operating environment in the hotels and lodging industry has continued to deteriorate in the last several quarters, and we expect the operating metrics to remain stretched in the near term. As the recession continues, both business and leisure travelers are cutting back on trips.

However, with some early signs of economic recovery, the industry is experiencing an increase in demand. While hotel occupancy levels have somewhat improved, we noticed that pricing pressures persists as hotels continue to offer heavily discounted rates to draw in travelers. As such, we expect profits to remain restricted in this environment.

In evaluating hotel companies such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR), we will be paying close attention to changes in average daily room rates as an indication of how quickly the sector may recover once the economy improves.

According to the data from Smith Travel Research, the U.S. hotel industry reported declines in all three key performance measurements during Jan. 2010. The industry's occupancy remained almost flat with a 0.4% decrease to 45.1%. Average daily rate declined 7.1% to finish the month at $93.93. These declines resulted in a 7.4% drop in RevPAR in January to finish at $42.35.

What we see is an improvement in occupancy levels from the prior periods. Additionally, the deterioration in other hotel industry performance metrics have started to moderate. We believe that the recovery of the hotel industry has begun. This trend of positive demand growth is expected to continue with the rebound of the economy in 2010. For instance, we are positive about the prospects of Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH), which has a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy).

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