WASHINGTON, DC—Industry experts discussed the outlook for new developments and demand within the lodging industry during the 2014 Hotel Business Executive Roundtable titled, “Developing Situation: Pace of Projects Pick Up Momentum.” Sponsored and hosted by Choice Hotels International, Inc., the roundtable was moderated by Hotel Business’ Dennis Nessler, editor at large, and held September 10 at the Cambria Hotel & Suites Washington, DC.
The executive roundtable explored a number of topics, such as the length of the current cycle. “The outlook is better than we’ve ever seen it before,” said Mark Woodworth, president, PKF Hospitality Research, LLC, noting that he doesn’t think there will be anything to be concerned about “for at least another 2-3 years.” The rest of the executives agreed that the next three years look good, with some stating that they see the cycle lengthening even further.
Steve Joyce, president and CEO, Choice Hotels, noted that his company is in a broad array of segments, so it would be even longer for Choice. “I think when you look at upscale, probably three years, but when I look at Sleep [Inn], it’s 4-5 years, easy,” he said. “If we get economic growth and job creation, we’re in for a really good run.”
Tom Brennan, SVP, lodging asset management, The JBG Companies, noted that the same could be said for Washington, DC, which had been lagging behind the rest of the industry previously. “For Washington, DC, I think it’s even longer because we are now just on the front end of what the industry has experienced the past two to three years,” he said.
While all were optimistic, David Pepper, SVP, global development, Choice Hotels, noted that the term “cautiously optimistic” that has been bandied about at industry conferences over the past few years seems to have officially been upgraded to optimistic.
Vinay Patel, president and CEO, Fairbrook Hotels, noted, “I think we’ve got 3-5 years, but what I would like to add to that is there’s certain things that could derail the economy and there’s a lot more of that happening now; the chance of that happening is higher today than it was probably 10 years ago, so keep that in the back of your head.”
Other discussion topics included Millennials, oversupply and the future of the full-service segment. For more coverage, look for the Executive Roundtable editorial feature in the October 7 issue of Hotel Business.