midscale segment

In the Upscale and Midscale segment, revenue was down 9.2% as reported for the period.

But the bad news is this time around the supply for the midscale segment seems to be higher,' said Kong. '

In general, the Midscale segment was relatively less affected than the Upscale segment.

TownePlace Suites operates in the Upper Midscale segment.

It said softening demand in the hotels business, particularly in the upscale and midscale segments, had offset sustained growth in pre-paid services.

The Economy segment experienced an 11.5% decline like-for-like, but remained less affected than the Upscale and Midscale segments in the United States.

In the United States, the Economy segment is generally outperforming the Upscale and Midscale segment by around 10 points of RevPAR.

Increase market share in the European Midscale segment through a more segmented offering (Suitehotel and Adagio on top of Novotel and Mercure)

The EUR100 million reduction will be divided between the Upscale (for EUR55 million) and Midscale segments (for EUR65 million).

If you look at the performance of the hotel industry in the last few downturns, the midscale segment, which is where Best Western is, usually fares the best,' said Kong. '

This reflects improvements of 0.7 points in the Upscale and Midscale segment, 0.9 points in European Economy Hotels and 1.3 points in US Economy Hotels.

Like the Upscale and Midscale segment, the fact that the Easter vacation fell later in 2009 and the absence of certain trade fairs also had a significant impact on revenue from Economy Hotels.

Overall, 92% of the openings in 2007 were in the economy and midscale segments, 38% were in emerging markets and 93% through low capital-intensive ownership structures (variable leases, management contracts or franchise agreements).

To optimize earnings, Accor is focusing its expansion capital expenditure on the Economy Hotels outside the US segment and emphasizing asset-light operating structures in the Upscale and Midscale segment.

RevPAR volatility in this segment is typically around twice the change in GDP, which is notably lower than in the Up and Midscale segments (where elasticity is 4 to 6).

In the Upscale and Midscale segment in Europe, occupancy rate rose 0.3 points over the month, compared with an increase of 0.4 points in December and a decline of 2.8 points in November.

Of the more than 27,300 new rooms opened in 2009, for example, more than 80% were in the Economy and Midscale segments and 81% concerned asset-light ownership structures based on variable-rent leases, management contracts or franchise agreements.

As was the case in the Upscale and Midscale segment, business outside Paris fared better than in the capital, with RevPAR down 5.1% in Paris but up 0.9% in the rest of the country.

India is an important market for IHG (and) the greatest opportunity for growth is in the midscale segment,' Peter Gowers, chief executive, IHG Asia Pacific, said in a statement. '

Headquartered in Palma, Mallorca, Sol Melia is the twelfth largest hotel operator in the world in terms of number of rooms and is represented across the luxury, upscale and midscale segments of the hotel market.

Brand executives at Choice Hotels, one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, recently put in place higher guest satisfaction standards for the Comfort brand family with the goal of securing the brand's place as the best option for travelers within the upper midscale segment.