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News for the Hospitality Executive |
| By Suzanne Marta, The Dallas Morning News
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Oct. 10--Business at Dallas-area hotels, crippled by the travel crisis after Sept. 11, dropped more in September than in any month in memory. Fewer than half of all rooms were occupied, and revenues dropped by almost 35 percent, according to a consulting group that monitors the industry. "Things were supposed to be down this year, but this is the biggest drop I can remember in 25 years," said John Keeling, a senior vice president for PKF Consulting. Last month's occupancy rate was 47.4 percent, the lowest since 1986. A year ago, 66.1 percent of Dallas-area hotel rooms were occupied, according to PKF. Hoteliers, however, said business is improving every week. "Individual business travelers seem to be getting back to normal patterns," said Rusty Wallace, general manager of the DoubleTree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in Plano's Legacy Town Center. Dallas hotels suffered the most severe decline of all the Texas cities because it relies more on business travel and convention business, Mr. Keeling said. In the region, only New Orleans experienced a greater loss in business. Richard Baker, general manger of The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, said the drop in business travel has forced hotel executives to refocus their marketing. Instead of frequent fliers, they're targeting chambers of commerce in cities within driving distance. The Mansion also is trying to attract groups that might otherwise have scheduled their conventions in New York and Los Angeles. "We want them to consider Dallas," Mr. Baker said. That technique has paid off for the Hyatt Regency Dallas. The hotel recently booked some large meetings that had been planned for New York and Washington, general manager Steve Vissotzky said. Jeff DeLong, general manager of the Harvey Hotel-DFW Airport and president of the Irving Hotel Association, said bookings for new business grow every week. "Things have been better than I thought they would be," Mr. DeLong said. "People are getting back into the groove." Business travel to Dallas had been declining since the first of the year because of a slumping economy, an oversupply of hotel rooms and construction at the Dallas Convention Center, which has limited the number of meetings there. September's decline, however, dwarfed anything seen so far. In August, for example, the local occupancy rate was 58.2 percent. The September figure was 10.8 percentage points lower. The more important number for hotel operators, though, is revenue per room. In August, the average was $47.27 per room. Last month, it was $41.50. The average revenue for September 2000 was $63.75. Despite the declines, Mr. Keeling is optimistic that the Dallas market will bounce back by the start of the year. Much of the convention and meetings business cancelled during the second half of September and, to a lesser degree, in October, has been rebooked for 2002. The real test will come in February, traditionally one of the busiest times for conventions. About 89 percent of Dallas' hotel sales come from individual and group business travelers, who are typically the first to return to normal patterns. "The further away we get from September 11, the closer to normal we'll be," Mr. Keeling said. "The business traveler is going to come back, and he's going to come back quickly. "We may talk about teleconferencing, and there will probably be more of that, but it's not going to replace the face-to-face meeting." In the meantime, hotel operators are looking for ways to cuts costs without losing long-term employees. Many operators have eliminated part-time and contract workers, said Mr. DeLong of Harvey Hotel. "Over the next 30 days, you're going to see some more adjustments to staffing, depending on business volume," Mr. DeLong said. At the DoubleTree in Plano, for example, some workers have been moved from full-time to part-time schedules to avoid being laid off. The Four Seasons Resort and Club eliminated overtime for its golf course landscaping by using some of its housekeepers. Signs that business levels are returning have kept many operators optimistic. "We're just going to have to ride out the fourth quarters and get to the first part of next year," Mr. Wallace said. "Our books for January and February are very strong right now." Staff writer Patricia V. Rivera contributed to this report. WHAT DALLAS HOTELS ARE CHARGING Here's a sampling of what some area hotels are charging now compared with a year ago and what discounts they're offering to boost business: AmeriSuites Hotel (3100 N. Dallas Parkway, Plano) Rate: $109 a night; has not lowered prices Hotel Inter-Continental Dallas (15201 Dallas Parkway, Dallas) Rate: $169 a night; has not lowered prices Radisson Hotel-Richardson (1981 North Central Expressway, Richardson) Rate: $99 a night; 10 to 15 percent lower than last year Stockyards Hotel (109 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth) Rate: $99 a night; lowered from $139 last year Stoneleigh Hotel (2927 Maple Ave., Dallas) Rate: $199 a night; it is the same as last year, but it will offer discounts, depending on the customer The Mansion on Turtle Creek (2821 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas) Rate: $325 a night; but depending on the length of stay, the rate could be reduced to $225 -----To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com/ (c) 2001, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HLT, FS, |