Lodging Gets Luke-Warm Grade From NAACP

BALTIMORE, MD— The lodging industry continued to elicit a middle-of-the-road rating from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) vis-à-vis its perceived level of opportunity as it regards employment, property-ownership, advertising/marketing, vendor relationships and charitable giving. In the course of releasing its 2004 Economic Reciprocity Initiative (ERI) report cards (grading a quintet of major industries), it was noted the lodging sector earned an overall grade of (C) so far for 2004, marking no improvement over its standing as stated in the 2003 ERI mid-term report card. Breaking down the standings for the hotel chains examined, it was noted Marriott International pulled the highest grade (B), with Wyndham International, InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt Hotel Corp. following with a grade of (B-). Choice Hotels International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide merited a (C+) rating, while coming in with (C) scores were Hilton Hotels Corp., Loews Hotels, Omni Hotels Corp., Cendant Corp. and Carlson Hotels. Occupying the bottom rung among those companies studied was Best Western International, with a (D) rating. It was pointed out that, although there has been little overall improvement in the lodging industry’s standing since the first report cards were handed out seven years ago, many more chains registered a (B) or (B-) grade this year. (It was noted that, in 2003, only two companies hit that mark.) Other encouraging news pointed to by the NAACP was the finding that— in terms of employment— the industry overall earned an average grade of (B-). What’s more, it was underscored that African Americans serve on the board of directors for eight of the 11 companies surveyed— another increase coming to the fore over the course of the past seven years.