Strategic Hotel Development and Positioning

Abstract

A study of more than nineteen hundred U.S. hotels for the years 2002 and 2003 found that a hotel’s net operating income percentage is most closely tied to its occupancy, although average daily rate (ADR) has a strong influence, as does market segment (also known as chain scale), the age of the property, and brand affiliation. A hotel’s size (that is, number of rooms) and location (e.g., urban or highway) also influence net operating income (NOI), but a hotel’s region does not significantly affect NOI percentage. The year 2002 data particularly show the importance of heads in beds. Hoteliers cut ADR heavily in that recession year, and those hotels that maintained strong occupancy were the ones that enjoyed strong NOI. While resorts and urban hotels generated the highest NOI in raw dollar volume, economy hotels had the highest NOI percentage and midscale hotels with food and beverage service (F&B) had the lowest NOI percentage.