PHOENIX, AZ— Attendees at the Eighth Annual Lodging Conference here were provided with a rare opportunity to hear what several of the industry’s most high-profile executives believe is plaguing the hotel arena, and how they might go about rectifying the situation. With the likes of Carlson Hospitality’s Curtis Nelson, Hilton Hotels’ Dieter Huckestein, US Franchise Systems’ Mike Leven, AH&LA’s Joe McInerney and Howard Nusbaum of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) on hand, a number of the industry’s hottest topics were brought to the forefront and examined in-depth. First to be discussed was the problem of profit-leakage to third-party Internet distributors and its impact on the industry’s rate integrity. Along these lines, Huckestein reminded: “At the end of the day, we have to have rate integrity. And always remember,” he added, “we can— and should— control our inventory.” Taking those observations a step further, Nelson maintained: “There’s not enough profit in this business to let some third-party skim off some 25% – 30% profit for themselves.” As such, he said industry marketers would do well to spend more time managing the distribution system… and not let it manage them.” On the subject of recent ownership/management travails and the litany of lawsuits they have spawned, Leven lightheartedly observed industry executive “Laurence Geller would probably sue his own mother and father.” On a more serious note, Leven explained, “In good times, nobody looks at their contract; in bad times, everybody looks at their contract [to see where they might affect greater cost-savings and efficiencies].” On the legislative front, McInerney pointed out the coming 10 days (of Congressional activity) will be “critical” to the fate of the hotel industry going forward. He explained that the upcoming voting agenda will list legislation dealing with prospects for a war with Iraq, the matter of a terrorism-insurance bill, formation of the homeland security agency, etc. Moreover, he said Congress is anxious to resolve these concerns prior to recessing for the upcoming election period and returning with lame-duck status. Finally, as to why timeshare seems to have held up so well in the face of considerable distress paining much of the rest of the industry, Nusbaum suggested that part of his sector’s resiliency may be due to the fact “it was born in a recession, and it’s something of a conjoined twin with hotels… being joined at leisure travel” (which he described as still being fairly healthy). What’s more, Nusbaum claimed the upside potential is still great for timeshare, what with market-penetration only amounting to about 6% at this point in time. —Michael Billig