Not surprisingly, most hotel executives aren’t very optimistic about the near-term prospects for the lodging marketplace. In fact, in a new poll taken by the Chicago office of law firm DLA Piper, 93 percent of respondents describe their outlook for the industry in the next 12 months as bearish. The consensus among the group is that industry-wide recovery won’t happen until 2010 or 2011.

On the flip side, the respondents believe the current market has created some good buying opportunities. In particular, the executives point to midscale properties and “green” hotels as two segments that will attract both short- and long-term investment activity. Taking it a step further, 75 percent of those surveyed believe investments in green hotels will be a long-term trend.

Some other findings of the survey:

• More than half of respondents expect occupancies in the U.S. to drop this year below the record low of 59 percent set in 2002.

• Few of the executives surveyed believe there is great risk of widespread hotel chain bankruptcies. About a third expect one or two chains will file for bankruptcy in the next 12 months.

• Eight of ten respondents believe passage of the Employee Free Choice Ave would have a negative or significantly negative impact on the hospitality industry.