WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) released its 2008 Lodging Survey, one of the most comprehensive industry-wide surveys of its kind, revealing notable trends in all segments of U.S. hotels. Funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF) and conducted by Smith Travel Research, the research analyzes feedback from more than 10,000 U.S. hotel properties polled in more than 100 areas of hotels, including types of in-room amenities, security and technology features, food and beverage options, number of beds, guest services, and property offerings. Additionally, this year’s survey included green initiative analysis for the first time.
Among the many major findings, the survey revealed the following:
New Technologies Becoming More Common
• Wireless Internet access is represented in 91 percent of responding properties, up 35 percent from just four years earlier;
• The number of hotels that charge for in-room Internet use is on the decline. Sixteen percent of hotels charge for this service, down from 19 percent in 2006 and 22 percent in 2004; and
• 35 percent of respondents offer iPod docking stations in-room; Upper upscale (76 percent) and luxury hotels (58 percent) are the most likely to offer this new amenity.
Hotels Getting Healthier
• Seventy-nine percent of responding properties have an exercise room and/or fitness facility, and 77 percent of these are complimentary for guests;
• The number of respondents who offer vegetarian menu options rose 16 percentage points to 48 percent. The number of hotels offering healthy menu options also rose 15 points to 66 percent; and
• Twenty-four percent of respondents offer allergy-free hotel rooms.
Properties Shading Operations with Green Hue
• Sixty-eight percent of properties report using energy-efficient lighting;
• Twenty-one percent of respondents are planning to incorporate Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) standards into their properties in the next 12 months; and
• Twenty percent note they have already incorporated LEED elements during the past 12 months.
“Due to its large sample size and the sophisticated analytic breakdown by market segment in this well-rounded report, the 2008 Lodging Survey provides the largest representative sampling and view of trends in the American lodging industry,” said AH&LA President/CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA. “This information identifies key trends that will come to affect the industry in upcoming years, and provides essential information on how the changing face of hotel amenities, facilities, and programs impact the traveling American public. In addition, the survey assists our members in benchmarking their properties, and vendors in determining segments that have growth opportunities for their products.”
“We are thrilled that this study has been recognized as one of the most comprehensive analyses of the total domestic lodging industry, and has been since the Educational Foundation began its funding in 1998,” said Joori Jeon, CPA, CAE, AH&LEF president/COO. “To date, AH&LEF’s research program has funded more than $2.4 million in like research studies to benefit the industry.”
Comparisons can be made dating back to the first AH&LA Lodging Survey in 1988. As with past surveys, the biennial 2008 study was conducted by Smith Travel Research.
AH&LA members can download a copy of the 2008 Lodging Survey via the Members Only section of the AH&LA Website, www.ahla.com. Individual data points are available for sale for $250 each from the AH&LA Information Center at (888) 743-2515.
