Room demand growing

After three years of contraction, Pricewaterhouse Coopers says lodging demand will increase 4.5% in 2004. And the lodging industry will grow by 1.4%. Three segments predicted to have the most robust growth: upper upscale, upscale and mid-scale without food and beverage. “We will not see a rapid growth in occupancy in these segments because supply growth has been the strongest in these three segments,” said Bjorn Hanson of Pricewaterhouse Coopers Hospitality & Leisure Practice. But room rates will go up, Pricewaterhouse predicted, anywhere from 1.9% to 2.1%. Report by David Wilkening