HOLLYWOOD, CA— There was a glimmer of optimism from speakers at the first-ever Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), which kicked off here Feb. 4 at the Renaissance Hollywood hotel. While the consensus was 2002 will be a tough year, RevPAR should grow by 2%-3%, said Mark Lomanno of Smith Travel Research. Segment by segment recovery should vary, he added, noting that the upper-upscale segment will take longer to recover. Meanwhile, Bjorn Hanson of PricewaterhouseCoopers said the peak of stimuli that will lift the U.S. economy will occur in the third quarter 2002. He also noted that the break-even occupancy rate for the industry will be 48.8% this year, the lowest it ever been. The conference is expected to draw 1,400 attendees. — Ruthanne Terrero
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