Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
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Hotels - US - October 2014
Scope and Themes
 
What you need to know 
In 2014, the US hotel market is estimated at $151.4 billion. Mintel forecasts that, by 2019, the market will increase 20%, reaching $182.2 billion. The drivers of demand are mostly positive. The number of domestic leisure and business trips are forecast to increase, as are the number of international visitors to the US. Economic drivers, like disposable income and the employment level, are also favorable. Competition is stiffening, however, with services like Airbnb starting to make inroads (especially for budget and economy hotel properties), and the market is evolving. 

This report builds on the analyses presented in Mintel’s Hotel Accommodations – US November 2012, and the November 2011 and September 2010 report of the same title, as well as Hotels and Accommodations – US, September 2008. 

Definition
The report covers developments in the US hotel industry, primarily consumers’ decisions and opinions about overnight stays for personal (holiday/leisure or family/friend) reasons. It covers commercial establishments that provide overnight lodging at a nightly rate, with a focus on hotels.

●	A hotel is defined as a collective accommodations establishment, which is primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging. Hotels may also offer food and beverages, recreational services, entertainment, conference rooms/convention services, laundry services, parking, and various personal services for the public. This includes hotels, motor hotels, resort hotels and motels, and excludes casino hotels. 
●	Motels, historically a separate category, are generally included in hotel figures today. Once considered “motor hotels” where travelers parked their cars outside the door to their room, motels today are considered to be hotels with limited services and amenities, thereby offering lower prices than full-service hotels.
●	Bed and breakfasts are establishments primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging in private homes or small buildings converted for the purpose of providing short-term lodging. They are characterized by highly personalized service and inclusion of a full breakfast in the room rate.
●	Casino hotels are defined as establishments primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging/hotel facilities with a casino on the premises. “Casino” is defined as a gaming facility that includes table-wagering games and may include other gambling activities, such as slot machines and sports betting. Casino hotels generally offer a range of services and amenities, such as food and beverages, entertainment, valet parking, swimming pools, and conference/convention facilities.

This report does not include analysis of hotels/motels operating outside the US, timeshare rentals, or hotel condos. It also does not include small, family-run lodging establishments that do not report employees. 

Alternative lodging options during personal travel such as camping, vacation home rentals, RV stays, and hostels are mentioned.

Value figures throughout this report are at rsp (retail selling prices) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.

Data sources
Sales data
●	Market Size and Forecast: Total revenues based on US Census Bureau, Annual/Monthly Retail Trade Survey and Economic Census; Bureau of Economic Analysis; forecast developed by Mintel.

Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Lightspeed GMI to explore consumer use and attitudes toward hotels. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in July 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that our surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the NHCS (Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study). 

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NHCS was carried out during January 2013-March 2014, and the results are based on the sample of 24,005 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

Direct marketing creative
All print marketing creatives are provided by Mintel Comperemedia. 

Mintel Comperemedia is a searchable competitive database tracking direct mail, print and online advertising in the US and Canada, as well as email in the US Comperemedia tracks information across nine sectors: Banking, Credit Card, Investments, Insurance, Mortgage and Loan, Telecom, Travel and Leisure, Retail, and Automotive.

For more information, please contact Account Services Management at 312.450.6353 or www.mintel.com.

Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report: 

ADR | Average Daily Rate
AHLA | American Hotel & Lodging Association
BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics
CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CLIA | Cruise Lines International Association
CPI | Consumer Price Index
NAR | National Association of Realtors
NHCS | National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Simmons)
RevPar | Revenue per available room
rsp | Retail selling price
TSI | Traveler Sentiment Index
USTA | US Travel Association

Terms
Hotel types are discussed and defined with the examples below: 

Economy chain | Includes Days Inn, Econo Lodge, Knights Inn, Motel 6, Red Roof Inn, Rodeway Inn, Super 8, Travelodge or similar
Midscale chain with food and beverage included | Includes Best Western, Clarion, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson, Quality Inn, Ramada or similar
Midscale chain without food and beverage included | Includes Comfort Inn, Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, La Quinta Inn, Wingate by Wyndham or similar
Upscale chain | Includes Courtyard by Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn, Hyatt Place, Radisson, Residence Inn, Wyndham Hotels or similar
Upper upscale chain | Includes Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin or similar
Luxury | Includes luxury chains Conrad, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Inter-Continental, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton, W Hotel or similar
“Lifestyle” sub-brand | Includes Edition by Marriott, Andaz by Hyatt, Element and Aloft by Starwood, Curio by Hilton, Indigo by InterContinental or similar
Independent hotel | Does not include branded hotels with multiple locations under corporate ownership

Economic and lodging specific terms are discussed and defined below: 

Civilian workforce | Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government.
Domestic person-trips | One-person trip of 50 miles or more, one way, away from home or including one or more nights away from home
Sharing economy | Peer-to-peer firms that connect people for the purposes of distributing, sharing, and reusing goods and services. Examples are Airbnb and Uber.

Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as: 

World War II /Swing generation | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 82 or older in 2014. Members of the Swing Generation were born between 1933 and 1945 and are aged 69-81 in 2014.
Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 50 and 68.
Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Gen Xers are between the ages of 38 and 49.
Millennials* | The generation born between 1977 and 1994. In 2014, Millennials are between the ages of 20 and 37.
iGeneration | The generation born between 1995 and 2007. In 2014, iGens are between the ages of 7 and 19.
Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2014 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are younger than age 7.

* Also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows: 

CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. 

The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars.

Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition.

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