The Lodging Executives Sentiment Index (LESI) Rose to 76.4 in July, Up from June�s Reading of 70.3 / Aug 2000

Hotel Online Special Report

The Lodging Executives Sentiment Index (LESI) Rose to
76.4 in July, Up from June�s Reading of 70.3

Durham, NH. August 2, 2000. The Lodging Executives Sentiment Index (LESI) rose to 76.4 in July, up from June�s reading of 70.3. The LESI, created by researchers at LodgingForecast.com, tracks on a month-to-month basis a 12-month outlook for the lodging industry.

Both components of the LESI indicate that lodging activity is expanding: the executives� sentiment about current business conditions propelled the indicator to this high reading in July. The Present Situation Index reads at 97.2 and the expectations Index was at 55.6.

**July 2000 Lodging Executives Sentiment at a Glance**
Indicator	July 2000 Index	Direction Business Activity in July 2000	Speed of Change in Business Activity form June 2000
LESI	76.4	Expanding	Faster
Present Situation	97.2	Expanding	Faster
Expectations	55.6	Expanding	Faster

Ninety-five percent of the lodging executives rated the current business normal, while fifty-five percent expect the business activity to be about the same in the next twelve months. �The overall picture is one of extremely high performance at present with a slowdown over the next twelve months,� said Raymond Goodman, senior advisor to LodgingForecast.com and chair of the Department of Hospitality Management at the University of New Hampshire.

Using proprietary forecasting models, researchers at LodgingForecast.com generate the LESI along with the Lodging Industry Barometer (LIB) and several other indices each month.

About the Index Following the Purchasing Managers Index method of tracking leading indicators, the LESI satisfies the need for real-time information for executive decision making in the lodging industry. The LESI is a leading indicator based on opinions of lodging executives who control a composite of more than one million hotel rooms worldwide. Under development since June 1999, the LESI is a diffusion index � a convenient summary measure showing the prevailing direction of change and the magnitude of change for the lodging industry.

A LESI reading of 50+ indicates that the lodging industry is generally expanding; and below 50, the industry in generally declining. The distance from 50 is indicative of the strength of the expansion or decline.

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Contact:
Raymond J.Goodman, Jr.
[email protected]
(603) 659-5255
http://orbit.unh.edu/dhm/
http://www.lodgingForecast.com/

Also See	Consistent Returns For Hotel Investors Forecast For 2000 / Dec 1999
	The Hospitality Research Group Offers Complimentary Trends in the Hotel Industry® Reports / Jan 2000

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