Site name: The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) URL: www.ahla.com Background information: Serving the hospitality industry for nearly a century, AH&LA is the sole national association representing all sectors and stakeholders in the lodging industry, including individual hotel property members, hotel companies, student and faculty members, and industry suppliers. AH&LA provides members with national advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other services to provide bottom-line savings and ensure a positive business climate for the lodging industry.

Exercises:

a. Navigate to the “information center” link and review the statistics from 2001 through the most recent year listed, comparing the industry performance statistics

(occupancy percentage, sales, number of properties, etc.). Has there been an increase or decrease in occupancy over the years? What are some possible reasons why this increase or decrease occurred?

b. From the AH&LA Web site, describe the typical lodging customer for the most recent year that data are available.

c. What are the top five hotel companies worldwide? What hotel brands do they have in their portfolio?