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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 2, 2001

U.S. hotel room revenue drops

Advertiser Staff and News Services

U.S. hotel room revenue fell 4.1 percent in June from a year ago, the third straight month of decline, as fewer business travelers visited cities such as Boston and Orlando, Smith Travel Research said.

Revenue per available room, a measure of demand based on average room prices and occupancy rates, fell to $58.96 from $61.46 a year earlier, the Hendersonville, Tenn.-based firm said yesterday.

Companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Cisco Systems Inc. have cut their travel budgets as sales slowed, depressing occupancy rates at hotels in New York and San Francisco.


Vehicle sales down 9% in July

U.S. automakers saw total vehicle sales drop more than 9 percent in July compared with a year ago.

Sales of vehicles produced by General Motors Corp. were off 8.8 percent; Ford Motor Company saw a 14 percent sales decline; and vehicle sales at the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG were off more than 3 percent.

GM's efforts to beef up its pickup truck and sport utility line are reaping benefits, with light truck sales up 2 percent last month. Sales of GM passenger cars dropped 19 percent, however.

Ford passenger car sales dropped 18 percent and light truck sales were off 11 percent.

Sales of Ford's Explorer sport utility were down almost 9 percent from July 2000. Sales of the Ford Focus, an entry-level compact car, plummeted almost 29 percent last month.

The Chrysler Group's passenger car sales fell 11 percent, while truck sales were off 1 percent from July 2000.


Sale of Quaker to PepsiCo OK'd

PepsiCo Inc. received regulatory approval of its $13.4 billion purchase of Quaker Oats Co., putting the highly prized Gatorade brand in the soft drink maker's stable of beverages.

The Federal Trade Commission took the action after deadlocking 2-2 on the question of whether to have its staff seek a preliminary injunction to stop the deal.

The purchase had raised concerns about the possibility it could harm competition because of PepsiCo's ownership of All-Sport, a competing brand to Gatorade.