OK, maybe I’m overstating it by just a little. But pictures don’t lie.
This is Starwood’s stock price over the last three months. Pathetic.
Ditto for Marriott. If I were a shareholder, I’d be on the phone with my broker — three months ago.
These are InterContinental’s ADRs. Not a pretty picture.
Compare this to the Dow’s performance:
Our three bellwether lodging didn’t follow the Dow’s initial plunge, but caught up later. Their recovery is mimicking the Dow’s a little, but based on recent lodging industry forecasts, there’s no guarantee that will continue. Hotel stocks may still move down.
So what does this mean for you? Plenty.
All this talk about “rate integrity” you hear in the hotel industry – maintaining current room rates while offering other incentives such as extra room nights or free parking – is nonsense. Prices must come down.
It’s a buyer’s market, and good deals will come to hotel guests who wait.
So if you see a deal that’s too good to be true, just wait. In a few weeks, it may get even better.
But how does that explain my apocalyptic headline? Well, the hotel industry has taken advantage of you, the customer, for years. You’ve paid outrageous “resort” fees, parking fees and wildly overpriced rates to connect to a resort’s wireless network.
This is the hotel industry’s last, best opportunity to make it up to you, by giving you a room without any surprises.
It’s time for the hotel industry to repent. Because the end is here.
