American hotel occupancy down 11%
The occupancy of hotels in the USA was down by 11% on average this October compared to last, the American Hotel & Lodging Association announced on Saturday.
Joe McInerney, the newly-appointed chief executive of the association, said that upmarket hotels were more badly affected than the mid-market sector.
He said that some mid-market hotels had reported occupancy declines of just 5% against far more severe falls of 17% in some of the luxury hotels.
Hotels income was even more badly hit, with upmarket hotels reporting falls in revenue per available room (revpar) of up to 18% and even some mid-market hotels recording 10% drops.
But McInerney said that the falls were not as bad as they seemed and he argued that the terrorist attacks of 11 September were not entirely to blame.
He explained, "You have to remember that 2000 was the strongest year ever for hospitality, so 2001's figures were bound to be lower. That said, business was obviously worse because of the attacks."
McInerney said that the key to persuading Americans to start moving again was to ensure "not only that travel is safe, but that it is perceived to be safe."
He said, "People forget very easily and start moving around again. As long as there is not another major incident, things should recover."