Reflections on a first US Christmas

Georgia's coldest November and December on record have seen us miss our year-end targets. Temperatures averaged freezing or below and there were four snowfalls before Christmas.

According to the weather reports, winter will continue to be one of the worst ever, carrying on into February.

My first Christmas in the USA was an interesting experience, but not one I will look forward to next year. The country goes mad buying gifts and running up serious credit card debt, and the decorations around people's homes look like Blackpool illuminations.

As with all things American, the bigger the better, and having the most or being the best is the only way to go!

Election fever came and went, followed by embarrassment. I discovered two interesting political statistics relating to our industry. Over the last 70 years, domestic hotel occupancy has averaged 72.1% under Democratic presidents and 66.8% under Republicans. Fortunately, all is not lost (now that Bush is the new president and, of course, a Republican), as average daily rates run 27% higher under Republicans.

An interesting fact from the Thanksgiving holidays, and good news for travel agents, is that global distribution system (GDS) bookings were up by 42% and Internet bookings jumped by 123%. Growth in Internet bookings was not at the expense of GDS bookings, which would indicate that travellers are using travel agents and the Internet more often and calling hotels directly less frequently.

Consistent with industry trends last year, Internet hotel bookings reflected a lower average daily rate (ADR), while the GDS held its ground and ADRs remained in line with retail rates.

Labour remains a constant source of concern in the hospitality sector. As volumes of business grow, the employee well continues to dry up at a rapid rate. The USA has record low unemployment rates, and federal government statistics indicate that by 2008 there will be five million more jobs than workers.

Spas and wellness centres continue to be high growth areas for US hotel revenues. In the past, spas were regarded as similar to telephones and minibars - amenities provided to attract customers. But spas now represent profit centres. Since 1998, spa revenues have increased by 16.6% in relation to a drop in food and beverage revenues of 0.3%. n

Euan McGlashan is general manager of the Barnsley Inn &Golf Resort, north of Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Next diary from Euan McGlashan: 15 February