Two million seats disappeared from May schedules when Spirit shut down last week, and the ripple hasn't hit most hotel forecasts yet. If you're running a fly-to leisure property and haven't stress-tested your summer assumptions, you're about to learn something the hard way.
A 300-mile round trip now costs $47 in fuel, up roughly $13 from last summer, and it lands on a consumer who's already cutting back on everything discretionary. If you're running a drive-to leisure property and haven't stress-tested your summer pace against this squeeze, you're planning with last year's guest.
Consumer confidence just posted its lowest final reading in over 70 years, gas is hovering above $4 a gallon, and families are making summer travel decisions right now against a backdrop of inflation anxiety and shorter booking windows. If your revenue strategy is still built on last July's pickup patterns, you're driving with a map from a road that doesn't exist anymore.
The April consumer sentiment index crashed to 47.6, gas just broke $4.16, and every major airline raised bag fees in the same two-week window. If you're a revenue manager looking at current pickup and feeling okay about summer, you're reading the wrong line on the report.
Downtown San Antonio's hotel occupancy has cratered to 59%, RevPAR is sliding nearly 9% year over year, and developers are still breaking ground on new properties. If you've ever wanted a textbook case of what happens when supply ignores demand, pull up a chair.
The Hilton Anatole is packaging pool access, dining credits, and parking into a spring break bundle that looks like a standard seasonal promotion. What's actually happening is a 1,610-room convention hotel using a $20-25 million water park to solve a revenue problem most large urban properties still haven't figured out.
Every major U.S. carrier just raised Q1 revenue guidance on the back of leisure demand that hasn't slowed down. If your summer rates are still where they were in January, you're not being conservative... you're volunteering margin.
Michigan sentiment cratered to 55.5 this month... its lowest print of 2026... and if you're a revenue manager at a drive-to leisure property still holding rate based on last year's comps, you're about to learn an expensive lesson about the difference between confidence and data.
The Michigan index has been below 60 for two consecutive months while retail spending contracts. The 6-8 week lag on leisure bookings means the damage hits your April pace report... and by then it's too late to adjust.
Airlines are posting strong numbers and everyone's rushing to declare corporate travel dead and leisure the savior. The actual data tells a completely different story... and if you're making revenue strategy decisions based on the wrong narrative, you're about to leave money on the table.
The Conference Board's confidence numbers are flashing the same warning signs I saw before the last two downturns. If you're still building your Q2 revenue strategy around leisure demand, you're about 60 days late.
Brent crude jumped past $80 on US-Israel strikes against Iran, and the market is pricing in sustained disruption. Here's what that does to hotel operating costs before most GMs even update their forecasts.
