OK, maybe I’m overstating it by just a little. But pictures don’t lie.
This is Starwood’s stock price over the last three months. Pathetic.
Ditto for Marriott. If I were a shareholder, I’d be on the phone with my broker — three months ago.
These are InterContinental’s ADRs. Not a pretty picture.
Compare this to the Dow’s performance:
Our three bellwether lodging didn’t follow the Dow’s initial plunge, but caught up later. Their recovery is mimicking the Dow’s a little, but based on recent lodging industry forecasts, there’s no guarantee that will continue. Hotel stocks may still move down.
So what does this mean for you? Plenty.
All this talk about “rate integrity” you hear in the hotel industry – maintaining current room rates while offering other incentives such as extra room nights or free parking – is nonsense. Prices must come down.
It’s a buyer’s market, and good deals will come to hotel guests who wait.
So if you see a deal that’s too good to be true, just wait. In a few weeks, it may get even better.
But how does that explain my apocalyptic headline? Well, the hotel industry has taken advantage of you, the customer, for years. You’ve paid outrageous “resort” fees, parking fees and wildly overpriced rates to connect to a resort’s wireless network.
This is the hotel industry’s last, best opportunity to make it up to you, by giving you a room without any surprises.
It’s time for the hotel industry to repent. Because the end is here.
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Uhhh….that’s what EVERY stock is doing right now.
Three months is a pointless snapshot for a mature stock
I really enjoyed to read your Article and got a lot of experience, Actually i will be travelling to Europe next year so i am searching some good Travel Websites to Europe so far i could not find except one website.
http://www.ExploreEuro.Com
This website contains a lot of information about European Union Countries and Europe.
Has anyone tried working with a good travel agent? With the travel industry changing across all sectors — airlines, hotels, car rentals, tour companies — agents often get the best information first. A good one can sometimes find you gems that you can’t get elsewhere since some of these hot items aren’t on websites or are too complicated to trust to the vagaries of cyberspace. Try AAA (even if you’re not a member) or Carlson Wagonlit. If you’re spending what little money you have to travel (that the stock market hasn’t sucked up), it is often better to keep that money protected by using someone who will look out for you, whereas websites won’t. Before you think I’m a mouthpiece for travel agents, I’m not. I have just booked a lot of travel over my life both online and with an agent. A simple airline ticket? Online is usually fine. But complicated trips I would never do online — too many chances for things to get messed up. And as for finding deals, give an agent a try. You might be surprised.