PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted U.S. lodging rates would increase 3.5 percent in 2011 following a 1.7 percent decline this year

. The firm expects occupancy to rise this year by 1.9 percentage points and next year by 1.6 percentage points. "Transient travel has begun to recover as funds become available in business and the economic outlook becomes more stable," PwC wrote. Still, "constraints remain evident, such as corporate focus on travel management and cost containment, low levels of group meetings and high unemployment."