Superclick (SPCK)

[MBA2005]

there was a report from Ernst&Young (of January 05) about he hospitality sector. interesting point:

10. 2005 Outlook: Cautious optimism for corporate travel and hopes that a weak dollar may boost stateside tourism.

With the re-election of President Bush this past November, there remains widespread perception that the Administration will continue to pursue policies highly favorable to business, and Wall Street hopes that the country's economic recovery will continue at a more accelerated pace. However, economic issues remain to be addressed: interest rates are expected to inch higher and possibly slow growth, and a deepening trade deficit is anticipated to place downward pressure on the U.S. dollar.

Within this environment, we anticipate that corporate travel spending will increase moderately in 2005, with resulting increases in lodging demand. With consumer balance sheets and the employment outlook slowly improving, consumer confidence should begin to recover, although the trend in late 2004 has produced less optimism. With anticipated increases in the federal funds rate, the incremental cost of capital for real estate investments could affect transaction activity, although this would seem to be offset by the significant amount of capital focused on investing in real estate in general and the lodging industry in particular. In addition, a higher interest rate environment is more likely to temper the rate of new construction, which is positive for operating fundamentals in the lodging industry. Meanwhile, the benefits from foreign travel to the U.S. encouraged by the weak U.S. dollar have been partially offset by the increased hassle of visa and immigration policies to accommodate such travel to the U.S., as well as a general lowering of the U.S.'s stature among foreign "ally" populations as a result of political policies pursued over the past two years.

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_1st/Jan05_EYThoughts.html