Hoteliers should be optimistic about the coming new year as the travel industry begins to show signs of a recovery.
That was the conclusion of the inaugural American Express Global Business Travel Trends Survey. It found that 84% of respondents expected the volume of business travel to pick up or stay at the same level in 2004. As a result, corporate room rates across the world's hotels should increase by between 1% and 3%.
The smallest increases will be seen in North America and Europe, where room rates are expected to inch up by just 1% in both mid-market and upmarket hotels. The Asia Pacific region, however, can expect rates to rise by 1% to 2% in its mid-market hotels and by 2% to 3% in its upmarket hotels.
Hans Lindh, head of hotel & restaurant industry at American Express, said: "This year has been a tale of two halves. The first six months saw the hotel industry enduring tough economic and geopolitical conditions, which have eased over the past few months.
"The adverse climate created downward pressure on lodging prices, specifically corporate rates. This was exacerbated by an increase in supply as additional rooms came on stream."
He added: "Our survey has revealed promising news for the hotel industry as we move into 2004. With business travel levels set to increase next year, this should in turn signal a long-awaited recovery for the hotels sector."
The survey also revealed that more and more business travellers were turning to the internet to book their hotel accommodation, with 37% of respondents saying they regularly booked online.