Strong Performance of Luxury Lodging Segment is Good News for Luxury Vacation Rentals
Dec. 17, 2006. As we have previously reported, occupancy rates for US lodging have leveled off or suffered a small downturn in the last few months of 2006. We have speculated that this is due in part to the steep increases in hotel room rates this year, as well as a surge in the number of new rooms being added.
However an article by Mark Lomanno in HotelMotel.com points out the luxury segment of the lodging industry is still enjoying strong performance at the end of the year: “While most industry segments have seen the rate of average daily room-rate growth plateau in the face of the above stated fundamentals, luxury hotels not only have been able to maintain their already segment-leading room rate increases but have, it appears, not yet reached the peak experienced by their counterparts. Lomanno goes on to say that, “From a demand perspective, luxury hotels also have shown the most growth of any of the chain-scale segments�.
This report on the hotel industry is positive for owners of luxury vacation rentals that try hard to please travelers looking for an extra level of amenities and comfort. It is consistent with the philosophy of VacationRental.org. We have always urged our owners to compete on quality and service rather than price. We always advocate that owners strive to exceed our VRO Standards of Quality and point out the ways to do this in our members only Vacation Rentals Newsletter.
