The economic impact in the U.S. hotel industry after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the strategies and status in the U.S. hotel industry for meeting the needs of their companies and customers after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. There are three objectives in this study: • To describe the current business circumstances in the U.S. hotel industry. • To determine some of the factors impacting the U.S. hotel industry after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. • To identify some of the management strategies in the U.S. hotel industry to overcome the economic difficulties after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The research provided a literature review of the economic impact in the U.S. hotel industry and some strategies that the U.S. hotel industry has responded with. With the qualitative research approach, the data analysis of interviews presented the general outcome of several themes by organizing and identifying the data. There are three major findings in this study. First, the research outcome indicated that the current business market in the U.S. hotel industry is still unsure. Second, the findings showed two main factors impacting the U.S. hotel industry. These two main factors are as follows: 1. The U.S. hotel market was shrinking. In addition, there are three reasons that caused the market fall off. • The U.S. economy had already declined. • People have felt fear traveling since the 9-11-01 terrorist attacks. • The general public is uncertain about the future of the economy. 2. The U.S hotel industry faced tough circumstances for survival, because the market couldn’t supply the same amount of business to the industry as before. Third, the research findings pointed out three major strategies that U.S. hotel managements employed: 1. To reduce operating costs. 2. To increase sales. 3. To enhance hotel security. The recommendations for the U.S. hotel industry are as follows: • Under the depressed economy, it is very important to operate the hotel by reducing costs in any possible way without decreasing the quality of service. • In order to survive the tough competition, there are some superior strategies for hotel management, such as employing Internet sales for marketing as well as upgrading the customers’ reservations without additional charges.