NEW YORK— The 23rd Annual NYU Hospitality Industry Investment Conference kicked off here this morning with Jonathan Tisch, president/CEO of Loews Hotels and conference chairman, addressing a packed house for the opening general session. Following Tisch’s welcome, CEOs from four major hotel companies took the stage to “check-in” with the group on how their business is shaping up this year. Sitting on the CEOs Check-In panel were: Tim Clarke, CEO, Bass Plc; Chip Conley, chairman/CEO, Joie de Vivre Hospitality; Georges Le Mener, president/CEO, Accor Lodging North America; and Thomas Pritzker, president/CEO, Hyatt Corp. The CEOs generally agreed this would be a tough summer travel season for the United States. “Summer will be soft,” said Conley. “In the United States we are seeing regional weaknesses,” said Le Mener. “Summer [business]will be fairly miserable,” said Pritzker.
The CEOs agreed that their companies would continue to grow cautiously, making small to mid-sized acquisitions this year, if those opportunities arose. Meanwhile, they noted much of their efforts would be focused on improving their existing portfolios (and growing selectively), ironing out technology issues and employee retention. —Shannon McMullen
