February 2011 - According to
the DLA Piper 2011 Hospitality Outlook Survey, expectations for the
continued
recovery of the US economy and increased business travel have generated
a
renewed – and surprisingly robust – sense of optimism.
For the
first time in three years, the overwhelming majority of respondents
expect that
hotel asset values will increase in the coming year, presenting the
best buying
opportunity since the recession. Seizing this opportunity, respondents
believe
that cash-heavy REITs and private equity investors will be the most
active
investors in 2011. Meanwhile, respondents are increasingly confident
that their
hotel debt will be refinanced or restructured in 2011.
On the
operational side, guest input through the use of social media is
playing an
increasing role in hotel management as consumers more frequently rely
on guest
experiences, not brand loyalty, to make booking decisions.
Highlights
of DLA Piper’s 2011 Hospitality Outlook Survey include:
- 88 percent of respondents
describe their 12-month outlook for the US hospitality industry as
“bullish,” nearly tripling the bullish sentiment from 2010.
- 82 percent of respondents expect
hotel asset values to rise during the next year, compared with only 20
percent of respondents in 2010.
- 9 out of 10 respondents believe
that market conditions have created good buying opportunities for
wellcapitalized investors, led by opportunities in the upscale and
luxury sectors.
- Respondents expect REITs (51
percent) and private equity (40 percent) investors to dominate
- the US hospitality investment
landscape in 2011.
- 37 percent of respondents expect
that their hotel debt will be refinanced or restructured in 2011 – up
from 31 percent in 2010.
- 69 percent of respondents report
that TripAdvsior and other social media, including Twitter and
Facebook, have changed the way they interact with guests.
- Despite a heightened sense of
bedbug paranoia among travelers across the country, the overwhelming
majority of respondents (85 percent) report that fears over bedbugs did
not negatively impact their operations in the past year.
- The majority of respondents (65
percent) expect China to continue its dominance as the largest foreign
investor in the US hospitality industry.
Verbatims
Respondents
were asked to share their thoughts on the following in an open forum
for
comment and feedback. The following represent select verbatims received
from
survey respondents.
Has the
popularity of TripAdvisor and other social media websites (i.e.,
Twitter,
Facebook, etc.) changed the way your organization interacts with
guests? If so,
please explain how.
- We are monitoring and rewarding
our management teams on achieving high performance on these cites. We
know the consumer is using them to make travel purchase decisions.
- More reliance on past guest
experiences than on brand.
- Making brands less important for
travelers making booking decisions.
- If you are not contacting your
guests through these new direct sales portals, you are missing the
boat.
- Brands have less impact on
relationship between guest and property.
- Social media give us the chance
to speak directly to our customers in an unvarnished and
non-threatening environment. It is the booking engine of the future.
- One more guest relations channel
that must be monitored and managed. Social media is becoming full-time
position at a hotel. Can’t afford not to monitor and respond to all
comments.
- Directing satisfied guests to
TripAdvisor (or similar).
- We spend a lot of time
“managing” TripAdvisor.
- It has raised awareness about
service delivery, communication, and delivering on the promise made.
- There is more accountability --
whether to actual or perceived problems.
- It can’t be ignored. Social
media is replacing customer satisfaction surveys as the primary
mechanism by which guests provide feedback, and it’s both instantaneous
and shared with the world.
METHODOLOGY | In January
of 2011,
DLA Piper distributed a survey via email to top executives within the
hospitality industry, including CEOs, COOs, CFOs and other senior
executives,
which was completed by 101 respondents. Question No. 2 was only made
available
to those respondents who described themselves as “bullish” in Question
No. 1.
Question No. 3 was only made available to those respondents who
described
themselves as “bearish” in Question No. 1. Due to rounding, all
percentages
used in all questions may not add up to 100 percent.
To view the entire survey please visit: http://www.dlapiper.com/2011-hospitality-outlook-survey/
About DLA Piper:
DLA
Piper has 3,500 attorneys in 30 countries and 69 offices throughout the
US, UK,
Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia.
DLA Piper became one of the largest legal service providers in the
world in 2005 through a merger of unprecedented scope in the legal
sector. While large in scale, the merger strategy was simple – to
create an international legal practice capable of taking care of the
most important legal needs of clients wherever they do business. We
wanted our clients to rely on receiving the right service for their
particular matter, whether requiring seamless coordination across
multiple jurisdictions or delivery in a single location.
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