:: The Hospitality Empire State of the South

The Hotel & Motel Industry in the U.S.

At first glance the top five states in hotel and motel annual sales figures are the usual suspects. However, upon further review, the number four spot is occupied by a bit of an underdog. Georgia vaulted past intuitive big boy New York to settle in at number four behind the country-sized heavyweights, California and Texas, and the ever popular tourist destination of Florida. When the five states are totaled they account for a full third of the entire hotel and motel industry, a $32.5 billion market* in the United States.

How did the #24 state by land area, and #9 state by population, gain ground on these hospitality heavyweights? Is it the Peaches? It is hard to put a finger on exactly what is drawing people to this southern dandy, but the weather certainly has to help. According to a report, from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, in 2010 the number of international travelers visiting Atlanta increased by 25%. This helped to make Georgia the 8th largest tourism economy in the country boasting 48 million visitors annually.

With the boom in tourism hotels are popping up all over Georgia. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, during the last five years Atlanta has added 2,000 hotel rooms to its already large inventory. With occupancy rates near 58% in 2010, compared to a 45% national average, hotel companies seized the opportunity to expand into the southeast fastest growing MSA.

What does this mean for the future? The Atlanta Journal Constitution predicts that in 2012 the Atlanta hotel industry will reach a strong 61.9 average occupancy rate. Already planned expansion at Atlanta’s major Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the largest in the world, will add twelve new international gates in the spring of 2012. That, you can bet, will help Atlanta stay in the top-five with the other perennial lodging powerhouses.

According to Catherine Kearns, General Manager of CHD Expert North America: ”Since the economy downfall in 2009, with occupancy rates worse than the great depression era, the hospitality industry is on an upward swing getting closer to the averages we saw in 2007.”


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*Sources:
2010, statistics provided by Technomic, Inc.
2011, Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2010, State of Georgia

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About CHD Expert

CHD Expert’s objective is to support Foodservice channel members with their sales and marketing strategies by providing, managing, and analyzing data for the Away-from-Home Global Foodservice Market. We provide the most comprehensive and accurate foodservice census housing market information for more than 4 million operators worldwide.