Monthly Archives: May 2011

In a May 26th Wall Street Journal article by William Spain, he noted that hotel stocks were some of the biggest gainers on the S&P 500 following positive weekly data from the sector.  The article quoted analysts,  “Host should have significant operating leverage as revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) growth shifts to be driven more by rate than occupancy–a trend we believe could last for years.”

Other selected quotes from the article:

“Shares of Host were up 3.2% while Starwood (HOT) added 2.8%, Marriott (MAR) gained 2.1% and Hyatt (H) gained fractionally. Intercontinental (IHG) was flat. “

“The sector was also getting a lift from news late Wednesday that total U.S. RevPAR rose 11.6% for week ended May 21, according to STR. That bump came from a combination of a 5.1% increase in average daily rates and a 6.2% rise in occupancy. “

“’The U.S.hotel industry reported its strongest weekly performance since early April,’ said Steve Hood, senior vice president at STR, in announcing the results.“

Springwood is bullish on the industry because we see this trend continuing for several years.  We continue with our plans to aggressively expand with Hilton and Marriott brands in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Dave Hogg

Here’s a way I read recently to deal with termites without using chemicals.  In several spots of foundation-line garden space, use pine bark mulch about 3 feet away from the structure.  Place a few flag stones (like stepping stones) right on top of the mulch.   Termites are attracted to the easy, moist food source and will stay away from the dried-up wooden framing of your building.

Use ceder mulch along the structure to repel the bugs. They’ll opt for the yummy, fresh wood covered with flagstone.  We haven’t actually tried this but logically it should work.  If it does, it’s a great way to rid the property of termite hazaeds without pumping poison into the ground.  Just feed them elsewhere.

Dave Hogg

According to recent press reports from STR,  all key performance metrics of the U.S. hotel industry rose sharply during the week of 1-7 May 2011.

Overall, the industry’s occupancy rose 6% to 60.3%, its average daily rate increased 4.8% to $101.73, and its revenue per available room finished the week up 11.1% to $61.31.  The strongest of these gains were from the luxury and upper upscale segments, which regained some of their pricing power as guests were again willing to buy luxury, but gains were recorded in all segments.

The primary chain scale segments where Springwood does business – midscale and upscale – both saw jumps in RevPAR.  The upscale segment (Homewood Suites, Courtyard) rose 10.1% to hit $78.95 for the week.  The midscale segment (Holiday Inn Express, Hampton) saw increases that were were not quite as strong, but still significant.

Dave Hogg