Lodging Industry

Crunched by a glut of senior housing construction, Marriott International Inc. announced yesterday that it will delay development of several assisted-living projects and cancel others.The Bethesda-based hotel operator's move, together with higher than expected start-up costs, pre-opening charges and higher reserves for accounts receivable, is expected to lower its fourth-quarter earnings by $12.3 million, or 5 cents per share.Marriott said the lowered earnings estimate stems from one-time charges associated with its senior-living business.

With a flock of jittery, curious sea gulls overhead and the constant noise of heavy machinery surrounding him, Alan Hunt surveyed the holes in the ground that many believed would never be dug.Several yards away, a drill rising eight stories pierced the wet ground, on its way to creating a cavity 70 feet deep and the future foundation of the Wyndham Inner Harbor East Hotel."

Host Marriott Corp., continuing to benefit from acquisitions and a robust lodging industry, yesterday reported its first-quarter earnings rose 42 percent from a year ago.The Bethesda-based hotel owner generated earnings of $218 million before interest expense, taxes and noncash charges in the period ended March 27, largely on the strength of its upscale and luxury hotels."

Marriott International Inc. yesterday reported that its first-quarter income jumped 29 percent over the same period a year ago, the result of a healthy lodging industry, acquisitions and increases in average room rates.The Bethesda-based hotel giant generated net income of $89 million in the three-month period ended March 27, fueled largely by its purchase of the Renaissance Hotel Group N.V. and a 9 percent gain in daily average room rates."The U.S. lodging industry remains very robust, and Marriott lodging continues to set the pace in terms of both [revenue available per room]

Marriott International Inc. reported yesterday that its earnings in the second quarter rose to the highest level in the company's 41-year history, thanks to gains in room rates and additions to its portfolio.The Bethesda-based company's net income of $101 million, 37 cents per share, was 20 percent higher than in the comparable period a year ago, further evidence of the strong U.S. economy and the hotel industry's continued strength. Marriott's total sales in the three months that ended June 19 also increased significantly, to $2.5 billion, a 16 percent gain from the corresponding period in 1997.

The NAACP called yesterday for a boycott of three hotel chains that failed on the group's report card monitoring the lodging industry. The companies are crying foul over the grading process.Best Western International Inc., Adam's Mark Hotels and Omni Hotels Corp. brought up the bottom of the list of 14 chains with grades of D+, D and D-, respectively. The companies were evaluated on their performance concerning diversity and minority business development.The lodging industry review, begun in 1996, judges companies according to the participation of blacks in management, franchising and supply of materials.

Marriott International Inc. reported yesterday net income of $86 million for its third quarter.The results came at a time of slowing growth in the lodging industry and represented a 16 percent increase over the corresponding period last year.However, the Bethesda-based company, the nation's largest hotel company, lowered its expectations for revenue and earnings growth to the mid-teens from 20 percent.Marriott's stock fell $2 per share to close at $21.875 yesterday.In the quarter that ended Sept.

NEW YORK -- The NAACP called yesterday for a boycott of three major hotel chains, saying they did not respond to a survey of blacks' role in the lodging industry.NAACP President Kweisi Mfume gave F's on a hotel report card to the Best Western, Holiday Inn and Westin chains. In a preliminary report in February, the NAACP gave eight chains failing grades. Five later responded and improved their standing.Mfume said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and three dozen black professional and fraternal groups hoped to mount a boycott of the three chains by midsummer in the nation's 25 largest markets, including Baltimore, where the NAACP is based.

WASHINGTON -- NAACP President Kweisi Mfume gave most major hotel chains failing grades yesterday on doing business with black Americans, and he urged consumers to boycott those with bad report cards.Flanked by representatives of black professional and fraternal groups, Mfume released highlights of an NAACP survey of hotel chains' hiring, promotion and procurement, but no detailed results. He said a "consumer guide" to the lodging industry was forthcoming.The survey represents the NAACP's first major foray under Mfume into what he calls the "logical extension of the civil rights movement -- economic empowerment."

With the average daily hotel rate increasing by more than 6 percent last year, to $71.73, after almost a 5 percent jump in 1995, travelers continue to find life on the open road ever more costly.But if they can complain about prices, they cannot complain about lack of variety. Between 1980 and 1996, according to a new Coopers & Lybrand analysis, 113 new chains were introduced in the lodging industry -- 10 in just the past 12 months. While many have since failed, the forecast is for even more hotel brands.

When the $301 million, city-owned Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel opens this month, city officials believe it still can bring sorely needed convention business to the city despite a weak economy that has dampened demand for lodging. Hotel and city officials, who offered yesterday the first peek inside the 757-room hotel, say early booking results by convention groups and other travelers are promising. And the hotel will achieve its goal of opening on time and on budget, they said.

Peralynna Manor is a dream of a house for Cynthia Lynn that opened the doors to a business she never imagined. Now her white mansion-turned-boarding house - stretched behind a white stone wall off Route 108 in Columbia - is doing so much business that Lynn and her husband, David, are expanding, transforming a six-bay garage into eight new luxury suites. The $500,000 project, which will include renovating the existing eight suites and expanding the kitchen, is planned to be completed by September, and will more than triple revenue, Lynn said.

Peralynna Manor is a dream of a house for Cynthia Lynn that opened the doors to a business she never imagined. Now her white mansion-turned-boarding house - stretched behind a white stone wall off Route 108 in Columbia - is doing so much business that Lynn and her husband, David, are expanding, transforming a six-bay garage into eight new luxury suites. The $500,000 project, which will include renovating the existing eight suites and expanding the kitchen, is planned to be completed by September, and will more than triple revenue, Lynn said.

Fear of terrorist attacks, flight cutbacks and a sagging economy are prompting travelers to cancel or delay vacations and trips, dampening tourism in Maryland and around the nation. Cancellations of tours and hotel reservations reach well into next month in the wake of last week's attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed thousands. It could be some time before tourism returns to more typical levels, with the timing of a rebound depending on consumer confidence, the economy and the airlines' ability to return to more regular flight schedules, analysts said yesterday.

Crunched by a glut of senior housing construction, Marriott International Inc. announced yesterday that it will delay development of several assisted-living projects and cancel others.The Bethesda-based hotel operator's move, together with higher than expected start-up costs, pre-opening charges and higher reserves for accounts receivable, is expected to lower its fourth-quarter earnings by $12.3 million, or 5 cents per share.Marriott said the lowered earnings estimate stems from one-time charges associated with its senior-living business.

With a flock of jittery, curious sea gulls overhead and the constant noise of heavy machinery surrounding him, Alan Hunt surveyed the holes in the ground that many believed would never be dug.Several yards away, a drill rising eight stories pierced the wet ground, on its way to creating a cavity 70 feet deep and the future foundation of the Wyndham Inner Harbor East Hotel."

Marriott International Inc. reported yesterday net income of $86 million for its third quarter.The results came at a time of slowing growth in the lodging industry and represented a 16 percent increase over the corresponding period last year.However, the Bethesda-based company, the nation's largest hotel company, lowered its expectations for revenue and earnings growth to the mid-teens from 20 percent.Marriott's stock fell $2 per share to close at $21.875 yesterday.In the quarter that ended Sept.

Marriott International Inc. reported yesterday that its earnings in the second quarter rose to the highest level in the company's 41-year history, thanks to gains in room rates and additions to its portfolio.The Bethesda-based company's net income of $101 million, 37 cents per share, was 20 percent higher than in the comparable period a year ago, further evidence of the strong U.S. economy and the hotel industry's continued strength. Marriott's total sales in the three months that ended June 19 also increased significantly, to $2.5 billion, a 16 percent gain from the corresponding period in 1997.

The NAACP called yesterday for a boycott of three hotel chains that failed on the group's report card monitoring the lodging industry. The companies are crying foul over the grading process.Best Western International Inc., Adam's Mark Hotels and Omni Hotels Corp. brought up the bottom of the list of 14 chains with grades of D+, D and D-, respectively. The companies were evaluated on their performance concerning diversity and minority business development.The lodging industry review, begun in 1996, judges companies according to the participation of blacks in management, franchising and supply of materials.

Host Marriott Corp., continuing to benefit from acquisitions and a robust lodging industry, yesterday reported its first-quarter earnings rose 42 percent from a year ago.The Bethesda-based hotel owner generated earnings of $218 million before interest expense, taxes and noncash charges in the period ended March 27, largely on the strength of its upscale and luxury hotels."