NEW YORK American Express Business Travel Monitor (BTM), a division of AmEx that tracks the latest quarterly business travel price trends in North America and overseas, has found that overseas hotel rates have jumped 16% in the first quarter of 2001 while domestic lodging rates rose much less significantly, with a 7% increase.
According to the BTM, pockets of healthy demand and tight room supply in several cities across the United States have kept prices high. For instance, in San Jose, CA, average 1Q rates rose 16% while San Francisco saw a 9% increase. Similarly, in traditional business centers such as Boston, New York and Chicago, where demand is significant enough to sustain higher rates, the BTM tracked year-over-year increases in average rates of at least 5%. Meanwhile, in meeting destinations such as Orlando, Miami and Phoenix, average rates were up 11%, 10% and 10%, respectively. However, the recent hotel construction boom has taken its toll in other cities, including Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Charlotte and Pittsburgh, where average rates declined by 2-5%.
The international average booked hotel rate during the first three months of the year rose by more than twice the U.S. increase, according to the BTM. A look at 41 overseas cities spotlighted by the BTM reveals that several cities in Europe and Asia recorded highest year-over-year increases in average booked rates. (5/31/01)