SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Taking a lesson from financially strapped airlines, U.S. hotels are cutting amenities and services in response to the worst occupancy rate in more than 30 years.
Stiff competition for customers and growing online-reservation discounts have led to leaner front-desk staffing and reduced restaurant and room-service hours. Guests can expect longer lines when checking in and out, fewer choices on restaurant menus and shorter hours for business center and exercise facilities, experts said.
The lodging industry, and cruise lines as well, are struggling with the same pressures befalling major U.S. airlines from continuing declines in both business and leisure travel.
"The hotel industry is taking a page from the airline industry's playbook: They are adopting a 'no waivers, no favors' policy," said Christopher Elliott, editor of TripRights.com, a consumer-advocacy travel site.
Several major airlines eliminated meal service last year on flights less than four hours -- which includes most one-stop transcontinental flights. They also increased fees on paper tickets and oversized or extra bags, and tightened refund and rebooking policies, among other cost-cutting measures.
About 60 percent of U.S. hotels in 2002 eliminated jobs or shifts for front-office managers and assistant managers in all departments, and cut back how often restaurants and other facilities are open, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Hotels are facing the lowest occupancy rate since 1971, and one of the lowest rates since the onset of the Great Depression. The rate fell to 59.2 percent last year from an already lean 63.6 percent in 2000, said Bjorn Hanson, leader of the hospitality practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
And fewer rooms that are occupied fetch top dollar. The average cost of a room declined by 1.6 percent last year, and by 1.2 percent in 2001, and major cities experienced far steeper declines, such as New York's 12 percent drop in 2002, Hanson said.
For the complete article - click here
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
