Hotels in Indonesia boast the best business outlook, according to the latest TripAdvisor Industry Index, a survey with responses from more than 25,000 hoteliers worldwide.
Brazil, Russia, the United States and India complete the top five countries in terms of best business outlook. Greece has the most negative business outlook, according to the survey.
The survey indicated a greater percentage of Mexican (21%) and Caribbean (20%) hoteliers plan to increase the size of their staffs than their counterparts in the United States (15%). Outside of North America, hoteliers in India (39%) and Brazil (34%) are reportedly the most likely to increase the size of their staffs, while hoteliers in France (6%) and the United Kingdom (8%) are least likely to add new employees.
Room rate rankings: Who’s increasing/decreasing rates ahead of fall
(Rate trends compared to same time last year)
Top 5 for lower rates:
1. Greece: 58%
2. Spain: 43%
3. Italy: 37%
4. Australia: 32%
5. New Zealand: 29%
Top 5 for higher rates:
1. United States: 47%
2. Brazil: 42%
3. Russia: 42%
4. Indonesia: 37%
5. Turkey: 35%
Social media rankings
Ranked 13th in the world for usage of social media to attract travelers, the United States (69%) trails behind Malaysia (89%), Indonesia (84%) and Mexico (83%), which topped the survey in terms of respondents claiming to use social media to engage with travelers.
In the United States, 70% of hotels and 69% of B&Bs reported using social media to engage with current or potential guests. Overall, across property types and sizes, respondents cited industry research/reports (57%) and staying current with the competition (30%) as the top reasons why they are using social media, while posting deals (64%) and responding to guest feedback (58%) were the most common responses for how they are using these sites.
“The TripAdvisor Industry Index underscores the current economic climate, as hoteliers in North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America are all approximately twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months that hoteliers in the EMEA region,” said Christine Petersen, president, TripAdvisor for Business. “What’s encouraging is the traction accommodations are making in the areas of online, social and mobile marketing. While currently only a quarter of respondents offer programs to engage with mobile device users, we expect this number to grow.”