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Adam Sacks from Tourism Economics spoke about the outlook for hospitality and travel to two HSMAI audiences at Commercial Strategy Week in Dallas — first delivering a general session at ROC Americas, then appearing before a combined Executive Roundtable program for brand and Hotel Management Company chief revenue officers and ownership group commercial executives. Adam is optimistic about travel recovery, which he says will have four characteristics:
- Recovery continues under storm clouds.
- The economy will fuel a rebound.
- Travelers are more than ready.
- The recovery will come in stages.
Other insights:
* Oxford Economics (TE’s parent company) is forecasting 5.5% growth in U.S. GDP this year and 4.4% in 2002.
* Group travel was at 60% of pre-crisis levels last month, but 68% of businesses are traveling now and 76% plan to travel within the next three months.
When Adam spoke to our Executive Roundtable participants, they
“The recovery really has remained constant even as things have gotten rough out there,” Adam said, which gives us a tremendous amount of confidence. In one word, the recovery is inevitable.”
Facilitating a conversation about recovery at our Executive Roundtables, Adam further identified three lessons that the hospitality industry learned from the pandemic, based on what he was hearing from Roundtable participants, who represent brands, HMC, and owner groups:
- We benefited from better technology and the fact that fewer people were employed who could potentially override revenue management systems.
- We had the confidence to hold rates because everyone understood the significant and real increased costs of operations.
- When cash flow is challenged, everyone focuses on profit metrics and not just revenue-centric metrics.
For more on what Adam is thinking about the recovery, read our interview with him.