The Irish Hotels Federation has said the sector is in crisis as it struggles to cope with a 20% overcapacity of 12,000 rooms.
Mr Power says expansion in recent years was unsustainable and 61,000 beds are now available in hotels around the county, compared with 40,000 in 2002.
The number of hotels in the country has doubled [...]

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Don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from a cheery-voiced, erudite lady or gent tipping you off that the genteel, 137-room Hotel Ritz in London, created by Cesar Ritz himself in 1906, has rooms for 30 percent off.
This is no scam, no boiler-room telemarketer reading from a script, no digital voice that sounds [...]

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Jack Taras and his friends thought they would be checking in at the Occidental Grand Hotel on the Dominican Republic’s postcard-perfect Eastern shore for spring break. But when Taras, a 19-year-old sophomore from Providence College, arrived at the resort, he was greeted with the hotel industry’s latest trick: he was walked down.
“They were sent to [...]

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As U.S. hotels are forecast to struggle with declines in occupancy, ADR, and revenue, we believe there is an opportunity for spa operators to capitalize on operational and competitive advantages.
Hotel spas are an important amenity to all market segments and should be leveraged with regards to meetings, conventions, and other special events. Innovative [...]

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Spending on travel and tourism declined last year for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Commerce Department said Thursday, as Americans canceled vacations, a strong dollar kept foreigners away and businesses slashed travel budgets.
As a result, the trillion-dollar industry — a major employer in the U.S. — is reeling, and [...]

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The U.S. recession presents a strong headwind to the travel industry, especially for business travel, which is declining more rapidly than leisure, the chief executives of two online travel agencies said on Monday.
“There’s been a more rapid downturn in business travel than leisure travel,” said Boyd, Priceline.com Chief Executive.
Boyd linked the decline in business travel, [...]

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Extended-stay hotels like these have been popular among hotel companies in recent years because they’re cheaper and easier to build. In 2008, the number of extended-stay rooms grew 6.7% to nearly 300,000, the highest growth rate in seven years, Highland Group says.
With blocks of guests staying weeks at a time, they also have fewer check-ins [...]

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Despite nearly half of travel transactions being made online , new findings from RBS WorldPay, reveal more than half (62 per cent) of consumers feel security is at risk purchasing over the internet.
With over half (55 per cent) of consumers ranking security as the most important factor when making an online purchase, the payment solutions [...]

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The credit crunch, an increased focus on cost containment and the bottom line, leveraging brand awareness on the internet, fair value, globalization, green building and planning loan restructuring and modifications in a structured finance setting, are ranked at the top of the list. Find out which trends will impact the hospitality sector in 2009.
The credit [...]

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