Hotels get creative as economy lags - Phoenix Business Journal:

moakhamet84.blogspot.com
He says his team is charged with showingt the dollar value as well as the experiential value of a stay at his resorr to both business guestas andmeeting planners, who can be a tougyh audience. “This is definitelg a buyer’s market.” As part of that changs in the market, the booking window for groupwshas shifted, hoteliers say. While planners still are booking some events a yearin advance, otherzs are turning on a dime.
“The booking window has gottenj incrediblyshort — inside of 30 days,” Richard With that kind of short notice, hoteliers warn there is some risk that the desirec amenities or space will not be “It’s a bit nerve-racking, but we are tryinv to stay optimistic and flexible,” says Newman. “Hoteliersx are being challenged in managing their saysKevin Kamenzind, senior vice president of sales and marketingb at the . “The booking window is difficult.
We know meeting planners are oftejn not the ultimate decision so there’s a lot more ambiguity, a lot more of the By all accounts, 2009 is goin g to be a record-setting year — and not in a good way. 6 percengt and room rates are going to decline abou4 percent,” says Freitag. That woulrd be worse than the aftershoci ofthe 9/11 terrorist attacks: Total U.S. hotel occupancy dropped by 5.6 percentg in 2001. Still, Valley hoteliers are looking on thebrighty side. “I think there’s a lot of pent-up because a lot of these companies held back ontheitr meetings,” Richard says.