Negotiated corporate hotel rates for 2012 should increase
between 5 percent and 6 percent year over year, New York University Tisch
Center for Hospitality divisional dean Bjorn Hanson said in a forecast issued
exclusively on Wednesday to Business Travel News.
Hanson's forecast lies between what he called divergent
expectations of hotel executives and travel buyers. The consensus among hotel
executives is for an increase between 6 percent and 8 percent, while buyers are
planning for increases between 3 percent and 5 percent, he said.
"It is clear that there are very different buyer and
seller expectations," according to Hanson, who noted that rate increases
will exceed forecast levels in such gateway markets as New York. "The
difference is as far apart as ever before and even more than last year."
Buyers should expect hoteliers to take a harder line against
making certain amenities—including fitness centers, breakfast and
transportation—rate-inclusive even as rates increase, Hanson said.
U.S. corporate rates this year on average are 4.5 percent
higher than they were in 2010, according to Hanson. Overall U.S. hotel rates,
by comparison, to date have increased between 3.5 percent and 4 percent year
over year, he said. Corporate and contract rates represent about 20 percent of
total U.S. room nights and about 30 percent of U.S. lodging revenue.