After two consecutive years of losses, the U.S. lodging industry has begun a return to profitability in 2003, based on the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AH&LA) Lodging Industry Profile (LIP), a statistical analysis of the lodging industry for year-end 2003.

According to the LIP, the lodging industry grossed $105.3 billion in total sales compared to $102.6 billion in 2002. However, pretax profits dropped from $14.2 billion in 2002, to $12.8 billion in 2003. This decline can be attributed to a variety of sources, including the industry’s inability to raise room rates and a rise in an assortment of expenses, including energy costs and third-party Internet providers. However, the LIP’s other indicators — promotional spending, average occupancy rate, and revenue per available room — all point to a stronger lodging industry performance ahead.

“After 10 years of record-breaking performance, the industry has spent the better part of the last two years dealing with a multitude of issues, including the lingering affects of 9/11, the Iraq conflict, and third-party marketers,” said AH&LA President and CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA. “Although we’re a long way from the record-breaking number of $24 billion we netted in 2000, hoteliers are being very resourceful in building back business and they’re starting to see it pay off.”

The LIP provides a quick list of salient facts about the lodging and travel and tourism industries, including employment impact; international travel statistics; and property and room breakdowns by location, rate, and size. A complimentary copy of the 2004 AH&LA Lodging Industry Profile is available on the AH&LA Website, www.ahla.com. Figures for year-end 2004 will be available in mid-2005.

Information contained in the LIP is based on data provided by the American Economics Group, Inc.; D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd.; Smith Travel Research; the Travel Industry Association of America; and the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.