The latest research shows new hospitality construction projects in the Southeastern U.S. are expected to be a lucrative investment. Powering the industry forecast is the shrinking national unemployment rate.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate fell 20 points in March 2017 to 4.5 percent. The month of March alone saw 56,000 new jobs in the business service sector. This creates a growth in the economy, which in turn generates new jobs, increase in wages, work related travel, and consumers with more income for travel and leisure.
“Economic growth remains sufficient to generate a 1.7 percent increase in room nights this year and raise occupancy to 66.5 percent,” the Marcus & Millichap report states.
Upscale hotels with new technology and amenities are expanding at a higher rate and seem to have the advantage over older hotels.
“The hotel business is firing on all cylinders, filling more rooms than ever,” says Jan Freitag, senior vice president with research firm STR.
With the influx of new business and wealth of activities, cities like Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Atlanta, are able to compete for luxury hotels.
“Today, hotels are virtually 100 percent occupied Sunday through Thursday. It slows down on the weekend but still achieves very high occupancy rates compared to other markets around the country. It’s simple supply and demand — if rooms are full, hotels can charge a higher rate and there really hasn’t been a tremendous amount of new supply hitting the market in the last five years. As a result, hotels are able to push rates up,” according to a recent article in the Tampa Bay Times.
Don’t just settle for any construction company. SWET Construction Group has a successful track record of developing premium independent and branded resorts and hospitality assets. From renovations of existing properties to new development, we offer a blend of development services to enhance the value and maximize your return for your project.