25 Interesting, Helpful...and Sometimes Gross Facts About the U.S. Hotel Industry.

Are you traveling to visit family this holiday season and will be staying in a hotel? Or are you and your loved ones heading somewhere warm and fun for a great winter vacation? Maybe you just travel out of town on business often? No matter what the circumstances, the average person stays in a hotel at least a handful of times every year. So we thought we’d put together some interesting, helpful…and even gross…tips about the U.S. hotel industry.

U.S. hotel industry by numbers-

1.   In 2015 the hotel industry generated a staggering $176.7 billion in revenue. Comparing this to the industry’s worst year in the last 15 years, where the industry made “only” $115 billion.

2.   The occupancy rate is at an all-time high at roughly 65%. Good news for the hotel industry compared the lowest point in the last 15 years that came in 2006 (52.6%).

3.   The average daily rate throughout the U.S. is now a record $121.37. The cheapest average in the last 15 years was in 2002 ($82.53).

4.   New York City, NY is the most expensive city to get a hotel room, with an average cost of $271 per night. Whereas Anaheim, CA is the cheapest, with the average being $144.

5.   New York City, NY also has the most hotels out of any city. The number currently being at 667, which is minuscule compared to the Beijing (4169).

Fascinating Trivia-

6.   Unsurprisingly, Las Vegas boasts the largest hotel in the U.S. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world, with 5,690 rooms. What’s more, 23 of the largest 35 hotels in the world are located within the same two-mile radius in Las Vegas.

7.   In 1910, the American Hotel Protective Association, or AHLA, was founded. At that time, they discovered that the U.S. hotel industry was made up of 10,000 hotels, 1 million rooms, and roughly 300,000 employees. At year-end in 2012, there were 52,529 hotels, 4.9 million rooms, and the hotel industry employed 1.8 million people. In 2012, hotels employed six times as many people as they did in 1910, but there are only 42,529 more hotels. In 1910, on average, each hotel only employed three people. Now, the average is about 34 people per hotel.

8.   The first official hotel in the U.S. was the Union Pacific Public Hotel. It was built in 1793 in Washington, D.C. In 1929, Western Hotels, which we now know as Westin, started their brand with 17 hotels in the Pacific Northwest. They established the first hotel management company in the country.

9.   Standing at 1,389 feet tall, the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago is the tallest hotel in the U.S. at 92 stories high. It’s also the fourth tallest building in the U.S.

10.   $2.1 billion of the $176.7 billion that is generated from hotels come as fees and surcharges. According to the U.S. Travel Association, “Each U.S. household would pay $1,060 more in taxes without the tax revenue generated by travel and tourism.”

Hotel Hacks-

11.   Once you've got a specific hotel or chain in mind, bypass calling the 800-number to make a reservation. Instead, do some research about their published rates, and then call the hotel front desk directly to ask what specials they have.

12.   If you haven't made a reservation, you might be able to score a lower rate if you time it just right. A little after 5 or 6pm, you have a shot at getting a cheaper room, or at least a better room for a standard price, if the hotel still has vacancies.

13.   If you have a mediocre experience at a hotel, call or email the General Manager and explain your stay to them. This will almost guarantee you to be at least upgraded each time you stay. To be on the safe side, build up a good relationship with the GM by calling them before your planned stays in the future, to let them know you are arriving. This will also usually get you an upgrade.

14.   If you’re staying somewhere for more than one week, contact the hotel directly to negotiate a lower rate. You can often negotiate up to 75% on nightly rates since it’s much less work for the hotel to keep one customer than to turn over the room constantly.

15.   If you have security concerns because your motel door directly opens outdoors where anyone can access, or the hotel is just marginal and you’re worried about break-ins, hang your ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and crank up the TV when you step out to give the impression that you’re still inside.

Gross Stuff-

16.   In 2007, Fox News reported that a hidden camera investigation of several hotels in Atlanta revealed that glasses often go unwashed, or are treated with potentially harmful substances.

17.   Bed bugs are on the rise. These pervasive insects are causing major problems in hotels. Just because a hotel is expensive, it doesn't mean it's bed bug free. Bed bugs are difficult to spot, and they spread quickly.

18.   E. Coli has been found on 81% on surfaces in hotels- like the telephone, bedside lamp, and the dirtiest of all things in the hotel room… the TV remote control.

19.   There have been eight dead bodies found under beds in hotels in the U.S. over the last 30 years.

20.   We’ve all seen the cult horror classic ‘Psycho’, right? Well, peepholes are as commonplace as they’ve ever been, and there are plenty of modern-day Norman Bates’ out there. Check for tampered peepholes on your door, as they can be reversed to look in, instead of out.

Coolest Hotels-

21.  TreeHouse Point- Located only 30 minutes outside of Seattle, this awesome hotel offers many different options for your vacation. Each option allows visitors a tranquil private home to enjoy the ambience of being in the treetops.

22.   The Saguaro- This 1950’s Technicolor time capsule in the middle of the desert city of Palm Springs, California, is a great place to spend your vacation. Its simplicity and charm offer a certain joie de vivre experience.

23.   Ultima Thule- This luxury lodge in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, is 100 miles from the nearest road, and is only accessible by private plane. Here you can sit in the middle of the largest swath of protected land on the planet. After a hard day of fun outdoor activities, your hosts cook up a meal of epic proportions that you can chow down on, before retiring to your quarters.

24.   Beckham Creek Cave Lodge- This is a hotel in a cave, in Arkansas. Need I say more?

25.   Jules’ Undersea Lodge- Situated 30 feet below the surface of the water at Key Largo Undersea Park in Florida, this cool place is America’s one and only undersea hotel. You can spend the night sleeping with Florida’s marine life.

Are REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) a sound vessel – or a sinking ship?

REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, have been hot product for investors the last few years, a sophisticated and risk-adverse method of leveraging a rising and rebounding real estate market. Simply put, REITs are companies or funds that own or finance income producing real estate, leveraging the benefits of the real estate sector without having to own – or manage – individual properties. But lately, cracks are appearing in the impenetrable hull of REITs, based on concerns and loss of profits amid Fed rate hikes. So are REITs still worth it, a safe and fruitful investments going forward?

REITs were first modeled after mutual funds, a hybrid investment that’s traded on major stock exchanges, sometimes as public non-listed funds, or even privately owned entities. They’ve grown precipitously in the United States, reaching every state and supporting one million U.S. jobs, and have spread to several countries across the world.

REITs offer indirect real estate ownership for steady income streams and long-term capital appreciation, but with flexibility and diversification where regular property ownership fell short. REITs collect rents or sell properties for profit, regularly paying out that income as dividends to shareholders, who can pocket the income or choose to reinvest, and sell shares as they see fit for liquidity many other real estate assets don’t offer. Investors are then responsible for paying their own income taxes on the profits. Essentially, REITs allow investors to buy stock in real estate, while the fund or REIT purchases blocks of property and property shares, called Equity REITS, or mortgages with Mortgage REITs.

To qualify as a REIT, the company or fund must have at least 75 percent of its total assets invested in real estate, and derive at least 75 percent of its gross income from rents, profit from sales, or mortgage financing. REITS need to have at least 100 shareholders with no 5 shareholders holding more than 50 percent of shares.

While most REITs trade ownership stakes in apartments, hospitals, hotels, commercial property, strip malls, nursing homes, office space, storage units, student housing, and care facilities, there are also trusts that invest in mortgages or mortgage securities for residential or commercial properties.

While REITS offered steady positive income streams and great returns for investors – increasing about 10 percent annually on average - over the last half decade, they’ve stumbled recently, raising concerns that they won’t translate well to a rising interest rate environment. And with the Fed assuring a series of rate hikes over the second half of this year and into 2016, dividend payouts have faltered as analysts and investors start to sour on REITs. In fact, shares of seven of the nine REITs listed on the New York Stock Exchange actually turned in negative returns this summer, a far cry from a spectacularly profitable 2014. Through June 30, that’s a 5.4 percent decline on the U.S. REIT index, and a fragile 1.23 percent gain on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Part of the decline in profitability is due to tangible losses caused by rising rates, as trusts with commercial and other long-term leases but adjustable financing can’t raise rents to compensate for increased expenditures. That’s why hotels, multi-family housing, and apartments are considered a safe bet as rates escalate because it’s easy to increase tenant rents periodically, offering flexibility that long term commercial properties don’t allow. But financial analysts think the market is also playing a wait-and-see game with REITs, putting caution before risk as they watch the Fed’s every move.

So are REITS here to stay? The most balanced advice you’ll probably read is that REITS are now showing their downside amidst these unique and temporary market circumstances. For some, buying and owning individual properties as private investors may offer far more control and long-term income potential. Or, several investors can come together to pool resources and own a few rental units together. But for those who want to park their money in real estate without every buying a garage and aren’t scared away by negative growth or stagnate income in the foreseeable future, REITs may still be a sound bet.