Longview News-Journal: Hotel Occupancy Continues Drop

The Longview News-Journal reports on the continuing weakness in the lodging industry in the east Texas metro, spurred by data from Source Strategies, Inc., the leading hotel consultancy in Texas. Factors include the continuing softness in the oil and gas-producing areas of Texas as well as an oversupplied market. This information is presented in great detail in Source Strategies’ latest issue of the Hotel Brand Report, covering the fourth quarter and year of 2016.

The News-Journal’s Ken Hedler interviewed Source Strategies Senior Vice President Paul Vaughn for the piece:

“What it tells us is, the lodging market in Longview is weak right now,” Vaughn said. He added the Longview market is underperforming the state average by 12 percentile points.

Vaughn said hotels tend to be a lagging indicator of changes in the market because business travel typically is booked months in advance.

Hedler also interviewed A.J. Patel, vice president of development at 281 Lodging Group, currently building a 104-room, four-story Courtyard by Marriott in Longview:

Patel, who has lived in East Texas since 1999, said he is well aware of the industry slump.

“It is not only oil and gas,” Patel said. “It is also supply and demand.”

Patel described the Longview market as being in a “down cycle. We have to weather it out.”

Read the full article, Hotel occupancy continues drop in Longview, in the Longview News-Journal.