Xiaoxing's Wonderland

When the market gets tough, everyone's involved. I am noticing that, recently, more and more hotel partners are coming to our shanghai office and hand over the olive branch, asking a lot of questions like "how we're gonna do during the down turn?" ; "how HRS helps us to boost the sales?". Obviously, our hotel counterparts need help. Here comes a good article from Times, on how hotels in US cope with the hard times.

Hotels Try to Adapt to Hard Times

Boom times for hoteliers pretty much ended a year ago. But the industry went into a real dive this past fall with occupancy rates dropping 6.5% in October and another 10% to 12% in November, estimates Smith Travel Research. "It's like someone has taken the punch bowl away," says Peter Yesawich, CEO of Y Partnership, and a travel industry consultant.

Hotels are struggling to attract patrons with everything from free breakfast to quirky promotions like an adults-only couples weekend at a resort in Bermuda, complete with counseling by sex therapists. There are more upgrades, more freebies — and more top hotels quietly offering their rooms at lower rates on Priceline.com.