You can either read this post as some more gloom and doom news for our industry, or you can see the following information as yet more proof of how much buying opportunity will continue to present itself for your company's meetings and events.
Earlier this month, at Smith Travel Research's first-ever Hotel Data Conference, more than half of attendees polled predicted that revenue per available room at hotels won't start going back into positive territory again until the latter half of 2010 or beyond. Further, more than one-third think it'll take even longer -- until 2011 or beyond. And what about rates? Of the 88 attendees polled, a little more than one-third think recovery will come in 2011 or beyond, while about 30% say rates will climb again in fourth-quarter 2010. Another 16% see third-quarter 2010 as the more likely scenario.
