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. Chinese Tourists, Gasoline Prices and Alternatives, GLBT Segment, Travel Agents, FAC�s, Manhattan�s Record Breaking Year, Impertinent Questions |
by Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC
June 20, 2006 1. For the first time in history, large numbers of Chinese are leaving their country as tourists resulting in an explosion of Chinese travel. In 1995, only 4.5 million Chinese traveled overseas. By 2005, the number increased to 31 million and by 2010, international travel industry experts forecast 50 million and by 2020 100 million. The six most popular destinations for the Chinese are Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Russia, Thailand and the United States. Are your children learning to speak Chinese? 2. With gas prices soaring, a number of hotel chains are rolling out gas-related discounts:
Some companies are already making strong progress within the GLBT community. Travel giants Orbitz and Travelocity have both created dedicated microsites for GLBT-friendly travel packages and destinations. Starwood�s W Hotel chain has committed resources to attract GLBT consumers, recently promoting a Queer Eye package across a variety of gay media channels. 5. As you might predict, online bookings continues to rise for the first quarter of 2006, as reported by TravelCLICK�S eMonitor. What you might not have expected was that travel agents continued to provide significantly higher revenue business for hotels with an average rate 37.1% higher than that for room nights books via the Internet. Furthermore, travel agent bookings account for 84.9% of total room nights booked electronically through the GDSs. 6. Do you know that:
In 2005, the Manhattan lodging market continued growing strongly, with a RevPAR increase of roundly 18.0% compared to 2004. The market recorded double-digit growth in RevPAR each month of the year, ranging from a high of roundly 28.0% in September to a low of roundly 14.0% in January. Overall occupancy of 85.0% and average rate of $232.31 exceeded the historical peak achieved in 2000 (83.7% at $222.53); these 2005 performance figures are also higher than in any other year for which STR data for Manhattan is available. Continued RevPAR growth is expected in 2006, primarily fueled by a strong growth in average rate. Due to limited new supply and increased compression resulting from near-maximum-capacity occupancy levels, overall RevPAR is expected to experience continued growth for the next few years.8. Impertinent questions seeking pertinent answers: Why don�t franchise advisory councils (FACs) represent their member franchisees better? Shouldn�t franchise companies secure approval from a majority of its members before:
Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC, is a New York-based hotel consultant specializing in hotel franchising issues, asset management and litigation support services. I am a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants and can be reached at [email protected] and 917-628-8549. Don�t hesitate to call me if you need an asset manager to monitor a management contract or a franchise expert to review an impact or liquidated damages problem. |
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Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC
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Also See: | Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 9 / Blang, Bathtubs, Best Green, Arbitration, Best Western, AAHOA, State Franchising Laws, VFR / Stanley Turkel / May 2006 |
Nobody Asked Me, But� No. 8; Bathtubs, Smokefree Hotels, Maps, Saving Water, Nevada Revenues, H.P. Rama, Ritz-Carlton, Statler Service Code, Mother�s Day / Stanley Turkel / April 2006 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�.No. 7 / Stanley Turkel, MHS, ISHC / March 2006 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / February 2006 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / January 2006 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / December 2005 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / November 2005 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / October 2005 | |
Nobody Asked Me, But�. / Stanley Turkel / September 2005 |
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