02/26/10 Stockholm, Sweden – Today, another biggest drop since the Great Depression… and this time the barometer of economic weakness comes in the form of hotel rates.
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“San Francisco’s year over year room price drop was worse than the Northern California average decline of 13 percent, but consistent with other big tourist cities on the nation’s coasts, according to Tom Callahan, CEO of PKF Consulting.
“Callahan said the steep declines from a year ago are the worst since his company started tracking hotel numbers in 1933.
“‘Everyone is in the tank,’ Callahan said. ‘But we’re also pretty close to bouncing along the bottom.’
“Callahan predicted that tourism would likely start to improve in the middle or second half of 2010 as consumer confidence improved.
“The ailing hospitality industry is bad for hotel owners as well as city coffers.”
The piece also notes that 15 San Francisco hotel owners have defaulted on loans, with the Four Seasons among them. The number falls in line with 12 hotel defaults in New York City and 20 in San Diego.
You can read more of the details in the San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage of the biggest hotel rate drops since the Depression.
Rocky Vega
Rocky Vega is publisher of Agora Financial International, where he advances the growth of Agora Financial publishing enterprises outside of the US. Previously, he was publisher of The Daily Reckoning, and founding publisher of both UrbanTurf and RFID Update -- which he ran from Brazil, Chile, and Puerto Rico -- as well as associate publisher of FierceFinance. Rocky has an honors MS from the Stockholm School of Economics and an honors BA from Harvard University, where he served on the board of directors for Let’s Go Publications, Harvard Student Agencies, and The Harvard Advocate.
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this is wonderful….i don’t know why people fear deflation….it is a sign of a correcting economy and should be cheered….
I lived in San Fran (they hate that) for 3 yrs in the early 90′s, had lots of fun but man is it expensive. One only had to cross the bay to find lodging, food and all other amenities 30% cheaper. San Fran is nowhere close to a bottom yet, but they will be after it’s all said and done. You will find rates way lower next yr as many of these hotels will be out of business. The carnage is now entering phase two. It’s not a recovery, it’s a coverup.
Celebrated my 5yr anniversary this weekend, instead of San Fran it’s New Orleans. Take that Nancy.
Tony-Probably because the only things deflating are currencies and retail prices. As I’m sure you know bank & Mortgage Loans arent deflating one bit.
“It’s not a recovery, it’s a coverup.”
It’s time we surround the White House, the Congress, Wall Street and the Supreme Court with yellow “crime scene” tape….
Yeah!!