total fees and surcharges collected by the U.S. hotel industry in 2009 will decline

Bjorn Hanson, lodging expert and associate professor at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, expects that , marking the first annual decrease since 2001. The $100 million anticipated decline, to $1.65 billion, would be due in part to "a concern about introducing new fees or increasing fees in a period of less demand and greater price sensitivity," according to Hanson.