The increase in credit card use has both positive and negative impacts. Credit card commission payments are on the rise, but the risk of collection of accounts receivable has declined. Now, as of October 1, 2015, the issue of credit card fraud liability has entered the conversation as well.
In 2014 hotel spa revenues increased by 5.1 percent, while department profits grew 10.5 percent. To evaluate how hotel spas achieved their gains in revenue and profits we analyzed the results of our firm’s 2015 Trends in the Hotel Spa Industry report.
While owners and managers appreciate the sentiment and stature of these properties, historic hotels have their unique operational challenges. As with any old structure, there are operating functions that require greater than average time and expense. On the other hand, the popularity of these aged properties has enabled them to recover faster from the depths of the great recession compared to their younger competitors.
One of the most significant findings of the 2015 edition of Trends® in the Hotel Industry was the 4.9 percent rise in operating expenses (ExPAR) for U.S. hotels during 2014. This is the greatest annual increase in ExPAR since 2007, and uncharacteristic of the strict cost controls implemented during the initial years of the recovery from the 2009 great recession.
Hotel spa departments continue to contribute to the revenue and profit growth of U.S. hotels. According to the 2015 edition of Trends® in the Hotel Spa Industry, hotel spa department revenues increased by 5.1 percent in 2014, while spa department profits grew 10.5 percent.
Since 2001, PKF Hospitality Research, a CBRE Company (PKF-HR), has assessed the accuracy of hotel budgets. Over the past 14 years, one trend has become very predictable. During times of industry prosperity, hotel budgets are extremely accurate.
PKF-HR Issues U.S. Lodging Forecast At Historic Hotels Of America Annual Conference
Over the years, the energy component of the consumer price index (CPI) has been a good indicator of the direction of the change in total utility expenditures at hotels. In general, when the energy CPI has gone up, hotel utility costs have increased, and vice versa. The energy CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for gasoline, fuel oil, electricity, and piped gas service.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) today announced that it has acquired PKF Consulting Inc. (PKF Canada), a leading advisory, consulting and research firm in Canada specializing in the Canadian hospitality and tourism industries.
As reported in the March 2015 edition of Hotel Horizons®, the growth in the demand for lodging accommodations in the U.S. will exceed the change in supply through 2016. For this year, rooms revenue per available room (RevPAR) is projected to increase by a very strong 7.3 percent. This is nearly twice the long-run average annual RevPAR growth rate of 3.2 percent as reported by STR, Inc.