Negotiated corporate hotel rates for 2014 at Starwood Hotels
& Resorts Worldwide properties increased in the mid-single-digit percentage
range, company executives reported on Thursday during Starwood’s fourth-quarter
earnings conference call.
Starwood CFO Vasant Prabhu said corporate demand in North
America this year would be robust. “The mood in corporate America is positive,
with a renewed focus on revenue growth and investment spending, which is good
for our business,” he said.
Prabhu said that he expected rate growth to accelerate in
Europe this year, with several hotels in the region nearing peak occupancy. China,
meanwhile, continues to be affected by cutbacks in government travel, but
Starwood has diversified sales efforts there to attract more corporate and
leisure business, he added.
Starwood president and CEO Frits van Paasschen said group
booking pace also is up for 2014, though the trend of higher volumes of
smaller-sized meetings persists.
During the fourth quarter, Starwood’s global average daily
rate increased by 2.1 percent year over year to $179.18. North American ADR
increased by 3.7 percent to $174.47, and ADR in the rest of the world increased
by 0.2 percent to $185.36. Global ADR was up across all brands and most
strongly at St. Regis/Luxury Collection properties: up 4.1 percent to $319.95
globally and by 6.9 percent to $385.29 in North America.
Starwood’s global occupancy during the quarter increased by
1.4 percentage points year over year to 67.4 percent and also was up across all
brands. North American occupancy increased by 1.3 percentage points to 69.1
percent.
Starwood’s net income for the quarter was $128 million, down
from $142 million during the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year, net
income was $635 million, up 13 percent from the year prior.