National News

2005 industry outlook

A lot could change in 2005 — for better and for worse, says Business Week in an industry outlook for the new year. Although overall economic growth will be about the same, the ranks of winners and losers are in for a shakeup. In the section on services, the magazine says steep oil prices and overcapacity will keep bogging down airlines, but travel is on the rise, perking up profits of hotels and car rental companies.
Source: Travel Advance

Online outlook

What’s ahead for the brave new world of online travel? For one thing, vacation packages now offer meaningful cost savings over the piecemeal booking of air, hotel and rental car, and actually do save time for frazzled vacation planners. For another, hotel rooms are rapidly emerging as the most popular offering in the virtual travel universe, and this trend likely will continue in 2005. PhocusWright predicts that airline tickets as a percentage of total online sales will decline from 51 percent in 2003 to 45 percent in 2006, with hotels taking much of the prize.
Source: Travel Advance

Convention center competition heats up

An $850 million expansion currently under way at the McCormick Place convention center is a sign that Chicago, which has been losing ground in recent years to sun belt cities like Las Vegas and Orlando, is determined to hold on to its share of the convention market. The new addition — covering more than 700,000 square feet, including 470,000 square feet of exhibition space — will allow the center to accommodate two or more major events simultaneously. The addition will bring McCormick Place's total exhibition space to about 3.7 million square feet, ensuring that it will remain the largest convention center at one site for the foreseeable future.
Source: Travel Advance

Going very upscale

Luxury hotels are getting even ritzier, says U.S. News & World Report. The magazine reports on five properties — three in the U.S. — that go the extra mile for well-heeled guests. At the Emirates Palace in the UAE ($446 a night and up), there's a bath concierge available who can choose from "his collection of perfumes and petals." At the Setai in Miami's South Beach, a residence, hotel and spa property, rooms average 600 square feet and suites are as large as 3,500 square feet. They offer rainforest showers, espresso machines and Bose surround DVD and CD systems ($900 and up).
Source: Travel Advance

Survey predicts growth in business travel

More than a third of North American business travelers expect to spend more on business travel this year than in 2004, according to a survey by global travel agency Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The survey of 1,200 business travelers and 300 travel managers in the U.S. and Canada found that 34 percent expect to spend more on travel in 2005, while about 49 percent expect no change from the previous year. In addition, more than half (52%) of business travelers said they do the majority of their business travel booking online and 89 percent expect that in five years virtually all bookings will be completed online.
Source: Travel Advance

Outlook for meetings industry

The global meetings industry will chart solid growth gains in 2005 for the second consecutive year according to a survey of meeting planners by Meeting Professionals International. Planners forecast an average five percent budget increase this year, building on a three percent increase in 2004, according to FutureWatch 2005, an annual report compiled by MPI and American Express.
Source: Travel Advance