Page 7 - MIN TTC 19 APRIL 2016
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U.S. NEWS A7
Tuesday 19 April 2016
Hotels wooing guests to book
directly online with discountsÂ
S. MAYEROWITZ Expedia said online travel A carpenter works on the siding of a new townhouse at a construction site in Houston. On Monday,
AP Business Writer agencies help travelers April 18, 2016, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo released its April index of
NEW YORK (AP) — Hotels discover new hotels and builder sentiment.
are getting more aggres- offer efficiency.
sive in their fight to get “The vast majority of trav- (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
travelers to book reserva- elers coming through
tions directly with them our sites are new, brand- US Financial Front:
instead of through online agnostic and incremen- April homebuilder sentiment held steady
travel agencies such as tal to the chain’s existing
Expedia and Priceline. loyal customers,†said ALEX VEIGA tiously optimistic about cent in February to a sea-
Hyatt Hotels Corp. on Cyril Ranque, president of AP Business Writer home construction growth sonally adjusted annual
Monday became the lat- lodging partner services U.S. homebuilders’ confi- this year, said Robert Dietz, rate of 512,000 after slump-
est chain to offer guests for the Expedia Group. dence held steady in April, the NAHB’s chief econo- ing 9.2 percent in January.
a discount for booking a “To ask a consumer to reflecting an overall opti- mist. March sales data are due
room directly on its own search multiple sites for mistic outlook in the market “Solid job creation and low out next week.
website. Members of its the best price sets the in- for new homes even as a mortgage interest rates will Home construction has
Gold Passport loyalty pro- dustry back 20 years.†gauge of current sales fell sustain continued gains been uneven this year. It
gram can save up to 10 As chains bring hundreds slightly. in the single-family hous- declined in January but re-
percent at hotels in the of independent hotels The National Association of ing market in the months bounded in February to a
U.S., Canada and Austra- into their booking systems, Home Builders/Wells Fargo ahead,†he said. seasonally adjusted annual
lia. The move follows simi- they are trying to prove builder sentiment index The latest readings come rate of 1.18 million units, the
lar campaigns by Hilton their own worth and justify released Monday was un- amid the annual spring highest level in five months.
Worldwide, Marriott Inter- their own management changed at 58. It hasn’t buying season, which typi- Still, applications for new
national and Starwood or franchise fees. Part of budged in three months. cally sets the pattern for construction were weak for
Hotels & Resorts World- that process means try- Readings above 50 indi- residential hiring and con- a third month in a row.
wide. ing to retrain guests to cate more builders view struction for much of the This month’s builder index
Hotel companies have do less price comparison. sales conditions as good, rest of the year. was based on 320 respon-
a tortured relationship The idea is that one ho- rather than poor. The index So far, the U.S. housing dents.
with online travel booking tel company’s website had been in the low 60s for market looks more tem- Builders’ view of sales over
sites. They rely on the sites should be your only stop eight months until February. pered after strong growth the next six months rose
to bring travelers to their when looking for a room, Builders’ outlook for sales in 2015, with sales in the first one point to 62, while their
properties and fill rooms. whether in a boxy con- over the next six months two months of 2016 running gauge of traffic by pro-
But companies like Expe- vention property or a bou- and a measure of traffic by below last year’s pace. A spective buyers rose one
dia and Priceline charge tique hotel. prospective buyers edged limited supply of houses point to 44. A measure of
commissions of 15 per- Hilton launched a market- higher. But builders’ view of have pushed up prices and current sales conditions for
cent or higher. The hotel ing campaign in Febru- current sales conditions fell. curbed sales. single-family homes fell two
chains would rather keep ary called “Stop Clicking Still, builders remain cau- New-home sales rose 2 per- points to 63. q
that money themselves. Around†promoting its
“It costs them less and own discount for loyalty
it gives them a better members — also up to 10
chance to create a busi- percent — as well as free
ness relationship,†said Wi-Fi. Starwood offers the
Henry Harteveldt, of travel same discounts. (Hyatt of-
consultancy Atmosphere fers free Wi-Fi to all guests
Research Group. “They worldwide, regardless of
get our email information how they book.)
and a chance to win our Travelers should note that
ongoing preference.†sometimes a discount for
Harteveldt noted that being a senior or AAA
fewer than one in four ho- member is greater than
tel guests belong to a loy- the hotel’s member rate.
alty program. But not always.q
