Both Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corp. are
reporting corporate rate increases in the high single digits as they wrap up
negotiations for 2011 hotel programs.
In its fourth-quarter earnings call, Marriott CFO Carl
Berquist said negotiations at Marriott are about two-thirds complete and are "running
up at a high-single-digit rate over 2010." Berquist also said that the
company projects the business travel recovery that began last year—corporate
room nights at Marriott properties increased 16 percent year over year in the
fourth quarter—will continue this year.
Similarly, Hyatt CFO Harmit Singh said that a majority of
Hyatt's corporate rate negotiations are complete, with most seeing "a mid-
to high-single-digit increase in 2011, in line with what we stated."
Hyatt reported a net income of $6 million for the quarter,
compared with a loss of $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Marriott's
reported net income for the quarter increased to $173 million from $106 million
the year before.