Tighter security hits US hotel occupancy

There’s no surprise that the US’s orange alerts and crackdowns on airline security are having an impact on air travel, but are they also hitting US lodging occupancy? An early answer is yes, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers that estimated a 1 to 1.5% drop in US lodging occupancy for the week of Dec. 21-27. “There have been 11 federally issued terrorist/security alerts since September 2001, six of which correspond to a statistically significant decline in US lodging occupancy,” said Bjorn Hanson of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Hospitality & Leisure Practice. Numerous flight cancellations, flight delays and air traffic prohibitions helped to lower the lodging rate. Other contributing factors included placing armed law enforcement on board planes, F-16 escorts on incoming international flights, FBI requests for information and other factors of concern for hotel guests. See today’s related story: TravelMole Interview: Richard Copland, ASTA