Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

LEVELS OF SERVICE 17ATLANTA—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Feb. 8, 2001—Suburban Lodges of America,Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAM) announced today that weekly revenue per available room(“RevPAR”) for Company-owned Suburban Lodge hotels increased 9.7%, to$145.07, for the month of January 2001 in comparison to RevPAR of $132.26 inJanuary 2000. The increase in current year RevPAR was attributable primarily toa 9.0% increase in the hotels’ average occupancy rate, to 73.8% from 67.7% inJanuary 2000, combined with a small increase in average weekly rate (“AWR”) to$197.68 from $196.75 in January 2000. The Company believes that its January2000 RevPAR and occupancy rates were negatively impacted by reduced travelresulting from Y2K-related concerns.In commenting on the release of this information, Chief Financial Officer ChuckCriscillis stated, “Like many other companies, we are looking for ways to bettercommunicate our progress with our shareholders. Reporting our hotels’ operatingdata on a monthly basis is one way to accomplish this. By releasing these numbers,we are not intimating that similar RevPAR increases will be achieved for the balanceof the year. While we are anticipating RevPAR growth for the balance of 2001, wedon’t view the January growth rate as sustainable because of the weakness in January2000 occupancy rates. Nonetheless, our January 2001 statistics provide strongevidence that our strategy of focusing on occupancy more than on room rates canyield meaningful revenue growth.”The matters discussed in the foregoing paragraphs of this news release includeforward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could causeresults to differ from anticipated results, including, but not limited to, general economicconditions, weather patterns, individuals’ plans for business and personaltravel, and other risks indicated in the Company’s filings with the Securities andExchange Commission. 16This article addresses the importance of using RevPAR to present a fuller financialpicture that is based on factors that impact room sales, such as economic conditions,weather patterns, and business and personal travel.Levels of ServiceThe four commonly used market segments—identifiable groups of customers withsimilar needs for products and services—are full service, all-suites, limited service, andextended stay. There is a great deal of overlap among these divisions, and much confusion,some of which occurs because leaders in the hotel industry do not agree on terminology.Some industry leaders avoid the “budget” tag because of its connotations of cheapnessand poor quality. Others welcome the label because it appeals to those travelers who arelooking for basic accommodations at very inexpensive rates. Nevertheless, the followingdefinitions provide some idea of what is offered at each level of service.TLFeBOOK