Hotels embark on large capital expenditures

A Marriott hotel
A Marriott hotel

Hotel owners nationwide will spend around $5 billion making improvements to their assets, as the economy continues to recover. That amount, the largest sum for capital expenditures in the hospitality industry since 2008, is up from $3.75 billion last year, according to numbers from the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University.

National Hotel Brands Like Crowne Plaza, Courtyard by Marriott, Staybridge Suites, Hyatt and Westin are making improvements in their restaurants, guest rooms and public spaces and investing in technology upgrades, like wi-fi internet access, the New York Times reported.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The reason for the improvements is declining customer satisfaction, which is magnified by the use of social media sites to review rooms, experts said. “Social media make all flaws public,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst, told the Times. “There’s no hiding behind an out-of-style dust ruffle anymore.” [NYT] Guelda Voien