U.S. Shutdown Is Hurting D.C.-Area Hotels: Will the Pain Spread?

There's been plenty of discussion as to how the current U.S. federal government shutdown is impacting the travel industry — from long security lines at airports to national park closures — but now it appears to be impacting the hotel industry, too, especially those hotels that cater to government-related business travel. "Our performance of revenue per available room (RevPAR) on a month-to-date basis is nearly 20 percent below last year," said Mark Carrier, president of the B.F. Saul Company Hospitality Group, which owns and operates 16 upscale and extended stay hotels located in the Washington, D.C. area. "We are seeing fairly significant cancellations of groups, some of which are rebooking for the future and others that are not." Carrier said he estimates that the overall volume in his hotels, regionally, "is at least 40 to 50 percent related to the economic impact of government contractors and all of the people associated with that. The shutdown does have a very significan