(External) Hotel Chains Focus On Conversions For Cont'd Growth
OCTOBER 27, 2003 -- With the pipeline for new hotel construction reaching record lows this year as a result of the sustained weak economy (BTN, Aug. 25), major publicly traded hotel companies have faced a similar predicament: If they are going to expand at the pace shareholders expect, growth will have to derive much more from conversion activity than it would have as recently as three years ago.