Choice Hotels Sees Promise of Tax Cuts For Travel, Just Not Yet
Photo Credit: Choice Hotels CEO Patrick Pacious said his company has yet to see positive impact from the new U.S. corporate tax rate in terms of travel demand. Choice Hotels International / Tony Powell
Skift Take
That corporate tax rate has helped companies with their balance sheets, but will those extra dollars actually translate to increased travel?
The new corporate tax rate that took effect this year might be having a positive economic impact for a number of U.S. corporations, but that much-hoped-for trickle-down effect may not necessarily be registering with the U.S. hotel industry just yet.
"We believe the promise of tax reform has yet to be fully realized across the industry," Choice Hotels CEO Patrick Pacious said Wednesday during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call. "As that occurs, we expect an ongoing positive impact on leisure travel in 2019 and beyond."
Pacious, however, still expressed some optimism, noting that the low 3.9 percent unemployment rate in July, an uptick in consumer spending and confidence, as well as steady interest rates
