The Recession Is Over!* Now What? |

In the December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) made the official proclamation that the U. S. entered an economic recession in December 2007. As is sometimes the case, U.S. hoteliers began to feel the pain well before most other businesses. According to Smith Travel Research (STR), the U.S. lodging industry first began to show signs of weakness in July 2006, when year-over-year demand levels contracted by 1.4 percent. The following months were volatile – some good – some bad. Total demand declined 1.8 percent in 2008, and STR reported an 7.0 percent decline through September 2009. The December 2009 edition of PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) Hotel Horizons® forecast report calls for a total year decline in demand in 2009 of 6.3 percent.