Hospitality and Tourism Industry May Need a Bigger Welcome
from the San Diego Business Journal (Jan 7, 2012):
…San Diego-based hospitality consulting firm R.A. Rauch & Associates Inc. recently forecast that strong local hotel occupancy and room rate growth seen in the latter half of 2012 is likely to continue in 2013. Occupancy is forecast to climb from the current 71 percent to 71.7 percent, while the average daily rate is expected to go from $132 to $138.
Company President Robert Rauch noted that the local hotel construction pipeline remains historically sparse, with just 478 new rooms expected to come online in 2013. That means existing properties in the coming year should benefit from a rising influx of international leisure and business travelers, especially as Japan Airlines’ direct local flights to Asia go from four-times-weekly to daily starting March 1.
Rauch said local corporate-related hotel business is being stoked by continued growth in industries such as wireless communications and biotech. “Corporations are getting back to selling face-to-face,” he said…
