Frequent travelers experienced in how to find cheap travel options, including cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages, are likely to find hotels they visit this year upgrading their properties.
Many hotel experts view 2012 as a make or break year for hotels to renovate or lose ground against their competitors.
The recent recession resulted in many hotels holding off on planned renovations. Guest room TVs and air conditioners were increasingly showing their age, as were linens and amenities such as fitness centers. Guests started to complain that hotel rooms, lobbies and other public areas were getting worn.
Hotel spending last year came in at $3.5 billion, up 30 percent, and was used to make upgrades to sheets, pillows, technology, lobby design and dcor. Although last years spending was significantly below the $5.5 billion spent on upgrades in 2008, it was the first increase after two years of reduced spending.
Most hotels follow schedules for replacing bed linens and curtains and similar items as well as more durable items such as furniture. Carpeting is typically replaced after around five years, while furniture tends to last 10 to 12 years.
During the depths of the recession, many hotels faced record low occupancy rates that reduced their income at the same time credit become almost impossible to access. This resulted in hotel management companies, including Marriott International and Carlson Hotels Worldwide, giving properties more time to make required upgrades.
Now hotel management companies want to return to past upgrade standards and schedules. Renovations are viewed as a way to give chains a competitive edge as travel increases. Experts believe the faster many hotels renovate the faster they will benefit from the rebounding economy. www.cheapfares.com