Moody's Doesn't See Lodging Rebound Until 2010

NEW YORK (AP) — Moody's Investors Service said Monday that it doesn't expect a rebound in the lodging and cruise industry until at least late next year, perhaps even 2011.

Many consumers and businesses are still scaling back their budgets amid tighter credit and layoffs that have hurt demand for discretionary spending.

For the lodging industry, Moody's expects declines in revenue per available room between 18 percent and 20 percent in 2009 and a decline of around 4 percent in 2010. Revenue per available room, also known as revpar, is a key gauge of a lodging company's performance.

Weak demand is weighing on prices, Moody's added.

Moody's also said that cruise operators, such as Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., will struggle next year because of a slow economy and bigger capacity, which makes it hard to lift prices.