“Lodging association names new director” plus 1 more

Posted: 27 Aug 2010 04:53 PM PDT

The Branson Lakes Area Lodging Association recently hired Ramona Mormann as the its executive director.

Mormann began work at the Branson association two weeks ago and said she is spending much of her time going door to door, talking to different hotels that are not members and sharing with them the benefits that come with being part of the association.

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Local hotels climb out after sinking low

Posted: 27 Aug 2010 07:45 PM PDT

By Lori Weisberg, UNION-TRIBUNE

Friday, August 27, 2010 at 7:50 p.m.

Howard Lipin

The Hilton San Diego Bayfront is among many local hotels that are seeing occupancies rise.

HOTELIER STRATEGIES FOR 2011

Gordon Luster, general manager, Hilton San Diego Mission Valley:

"We have added to our sales staff in order to book more group business in 2011. We're looking at predominantly small corporate meetings and government-related workshops and seminars. There's been a big surge in government and military activity, and that is panning out to be a lucrative market for us locally."

Jim Durbin, general manager, San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter:

"Going into 2011, our goal will be to introduce our property to more markets. In the past, we've anticipated heavy involvement from groups that may meet at the Convention Center, but now we're going after other groups and associations we haven't gone after in the past. We're also going after smaller markets that are social in nature, like weddings and reunions and religious organizations."

Donovan Henson, area director of sales and marketing, Hilton San Diego Bayfront:

"We are creating more 'value ads' to the room-night purchase in an effort to offer more value to the customer in the room rate. Our goal is that this translates to increased customer loyalty and future capture of their hotel purchase decisions. We are also waiving all fitness-center access fees to all guests in 2011. Currently at $10 a day, this is close to a $200,000 'investment' we are making in the same vein of creating additional value for the hotel guests, which will in turn reinforce their loyalty.

We've also implemented an app that can be accessed by Internet or Smart phones where guests can order room service, amenities, book spa services, request housekeeping/maintenance, etc. We feel this will bring us enhanced revenue in those areas."

John Gates, Rancho Bernardo Inn:

"For the upcoming year, we're going to be increasing our rates 20 percent over 2010, for groups and leisure travelers. We'll be more restrictive with discounting. We dropped our rates in 2009 and 2010, and I want to get back to 2008 levels, which was a healthy year for rates."

Photo by Howard Lipin

The Bayfront Hilton plans to offer more bundled deals for guests next year.

Defying increasingly somber reports that the economic recovery is faltering, San Diego's hotel industry is expected to make a slow but steady comeback this year and next as growing numbers of consumers and businesses return to travel after a long, painful drought, say forecasters.

By year's end, San Diego County's beleaguered hotels are expected to see a 2.7 percent spike in revenues, just a year after experiencing a 21 percent plunge, according to the latest forecast released by Colliers PKF Hospitality Research. Only three months ago, the Atlanta-based firm had predicted a 4.1 percent drop by year's end.

By next year, the news is even better for the local lodging industry, which can expect an 11 percent surge in revenues.

No question, hotels large and small have suffered mightily during the economic downturn, and it will be years before they see a return to pre-recession profits. But suddenly, prospects for better times ahead appear much brighter, Colliers PKF believes.

A similarly rosy outlook is forecast for the nation as well, with revenues and occupancy levels expected to rise at healthy rates.

The abrupt change in thinking both nationally and locally was fueled by an unexpected increase in demand among business and leisure travelers, reinvigorated by some of the lowest hotel rates seen in years, say PKF analysts.

"We've done some testing, and we do think rates are remarkably low relative to long-term averages," said Robert Mandelbaum, director of research information services for PKF. "Rates nationally are now comparable to what people were paying in the 1990s. There was so much discounting in 2009, they're now a bargain, so we think that's eased people's concerns about traveling."

While average hotel rates are expected to gradually rise in the coming years, consumers should not despair over the prospect of a quick end to deep discounting. Local hoteliers say they are more interested in boosting their occupancies for now and fear any sudden increase in room rates could put a chill on future business.

The PKF report shows that average daily rates for San Diego County hotels will rise to nearly $133 next year but won't surpass the previous high of $147.85 in 2008 until 2013. That is also the year in which revenue per available room — an important barometer of the lodging industry's financial health — will return to its previous peak, which was in 2007.

"The recovery is so tenuous that as a general rule, hoteliers are saying, 'I want to build the occupancy back up, and I don't want to scare anybody away by raising rates,' " said Gordon Luster, general manager of the Hilton Mission Valley. "So value rates will be here for another 12 to 18 months, except for during high occupancy periods like Comic-Con."

The rising optimism among forecasters is driven in part by the growing inclination of corporations to once again hit the road to conduct business. For the past couple of years, business travel rapidly evaporated, and companies looked for ways to pare expenses during the recession.

"Don't forget, you're coming off a horrific period where companies didn't meet and travel, so what you're seeing in the hotel sector is what you're seeing in other sectors of the economy," said Bruce Baltin, a senior vice president in PKF's Los Angeles office. "The business world overreacted on the down side last year, but now they've got to begin to gear up. They may not be hiring employees, but they still have to travel to some extent just to conduct their business. So they're restarting their engines, albeit on a conservative basis."

So, too, are the regular consumers who have grown weary of setting aside their passion for travel, hotel operators believe. Many operators are seeing their occupancy levels pick up.

"You can only bottle up people's recreational needs for so long, so you're seeing people who are wanting to take a trip going on trips they can drive to," said Jim Durbin, general manager of the Gaslamp Marriott and president of the San Diego County Hotel-Motel Association. "Instead of a week, they're spending a couple of days, but they're doing it more often. They need some relief."

PKF analysts acknowledge that should the overall economy significantly worsen, performance in the lodging industry will suffer, and they'll have to revise their forecast.

"If someone were to ask us if the numbers will be less or greater than what we're forecasting, we're leaning toward something a little less because of all the uncertainty," Mandelbaum said.

Still, economist Christopher Thornberg believes that PKF is on the right track in predicting much healthier hotel performance.

"I do think slow recovery is the way we're going," said Thornberg, founding principal of Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics. "You are in a situation where everyone's freaking out over a slowdown in the economy, but it was predictable. Corporations are making tons of money, so you start sending people out when profits are up, and consumer spending is moving forward."

Unlike some hoteliers, Rancho Bernardo Inn General Manager John Gates is ready to start raising rates as he sees business pick up at his hotel. He'll still bundle deals to attract consumers, but he believes the time has finally arrived to ease out of discounting.

"People are slowly loosening their pocketbooks to spend more for food and beverage, spa and golf, and we're seeing more spent on audio-visual presentations by groups who are putting on their shows," said Gates. "In the recessionary period, groups said just give me a notepad and water.

"I think we've hit our low point, and we're finally coming out."

Hotels Lodging

Friday, August 27, 2010