This may be a tough year for the hotel industry, but 2007 was a great one. According to new data from Smith Travel Research, the U.S. lodging industry posted all-time highs in revenues--$139.4 billion--and profits--$28 billion--in 2007. The results are published in STR's Hotel Operating Statistics (HOST) Study, which was issued yesterday and covers data from operating statements of 5,200 hotels.

Pre-tax income increased by 5.3 percent over 2006 numbers, while revenues climbed by more than $6 billion. For the second consecutive year, the industry's gross operating profit was 41.3 percent of revenue.
Some other findings in the study:

• Gross operating profit increased for full-service hotels (to 35.7 percent of revenues) but decreased (to 52.0 percent) for limited-service properties.

• After franchise fees, management fees, taxes, insurance and capital replacement, full-service hotels recorded $17,003 per available room in funds available for debt service and other fixed charges. That's equates to 25.3 percent of total revenue and is up from $15,307 in 2006.