Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) hit a new 52-week high of $42.78 during the intraday session. At the specific time of this writing, the shares were trading at a little lower quote of $41.43, good for a gain of 1%. Strong volume backed the move.

The one-year chart looks appealing. The stock has risen a very significant distance from its 52-week low of $26.52. Is it time to place the hotel entity into a long-term portfolio?

Continue reading Marriott Hits New 52-Week High

Marriott Hits New 52-Week High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Marriott Turns in a Good Quarter

Marriott Turns in a Good Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America

PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Timeshares, that wonderful relic from the 1970s, are about as popular as disco and excessive chest hair this year. Thanks to the recession, timeshare sales are forecasted to suffer their worst fall since this vacation option came on the scene more than 30 years ago. The plunge could reach 30 percent, according to Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, a trade group, and the next year and a half could be tough, as well.

In the United States, timeshare sales fell 8.5% last year to $9.7 billion. They reached their peak the year before, when sales hit $10.6 billion, according to a study by Ernst & Young. The 2008 decline was the first sustained by the industry since it started keeping score in 1975.

Continue reading Timeshare growth spurt ends severely

Timeshare growth spurt ends severely originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How can exports not rebound? Last year ended on a sour note after posting record results, and 2009 is by all accounts likely to be ugly. The tourism and travel industry is expected to shed more than 200,000 jobs this year. Fortunately, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. The U.S. Department of Commerce expects international visits to the United States to come back in 2010 - after its first forecasted year of decline (i.e., 2009) since 2003.

This year, international travel to the United States is expected to fall 8%. The following year, however, U.S. travel exports are expected to gain 5%, with 5% annual increases through the end of 2013. We'll come out ahead in all this, but it's going to take some time.

Will the influx of foreign visitors over the next four years be enough to turn the travel industry in the United States around? It's too soon to tell right now, and much will depend on the contributions made by domestic routes. Needless to say, even this glimmer of hope must be welcome to investors committed to the airline and hotel sectors.

U.S. travel exports to rebound in 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.