Ten Years Later: Has the U.S. Lodging Industry Really Recovered?

Robert Mandelbaum | September 20, 2018

By Robert Mandelbaum and Keval Rama Lodging is a cyclical industry meaning that it passes over time through four distinct phases: peak, contraction, trough and expansion. Most industry participants believe that 2007 was the previous peak of the current business cycle following six years of expansion from the 2001 industry recession. According to STR, the demand for lodging increased for six consecutive years from 2002 through 2007, while average daily room rates (ADR) grew in excess of 4.5 percent during the latter four years. Per CBRE Hotels' Trends® in the Hotel Industry survey, gross operating profits (GOP) were growing at a 10 p...