Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (WYN) reported third-quarter earnings of 57 cents per share. Adjusted earnings of 58 cents were 2 pennies ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents. However, results were down from the prior-year period when the company had earned 83 cents on an adjusted basis.  While revenues were down in the quarter, the company reported a drop in expenses which improved the company’s bottom-line. Wyndham has also raised its full-year 2009 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $775 - $825, compared with the prior guidance of $760 - $810 million. The company expects to earn 35 cents to 38 cents in the fourth quarter. Revenues were down 17% from the year-ago quarter to $1.02 billion, primarily due to Wyndham’s decision to invest less in its timeshare business.  Additionally, the lodging industry continues to suffer as a result of the challenging macroeconomic environment which continues to ...

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST), the largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) in the U.S., reported disappointing results for the third quarter of 2009, with year-over-year decrease in revenue and earnings per share. Total revenue decreased $227 million or 19.9% during the quarter to $912 million compared to the year-earlier quarter. The company also reported a loss of 9 cents per share compared to earnings of 9 cents per share in the year-ago period. During the quarter, Host Hotels reported FFO (funds from operations) of $66 million or 11 cents per share, compared to $170 million or 31 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. The decrease in FFO was primarily due to an increase in non-cash interest expenses ...

On July 16, Bethesda, MD-based hotelier Marriott International (MAR) reported financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Total revenue was $2.6 billion, down 19.6% versus the prior year period. Marriott experienced worldwide declines in revenue per available room (RevPAR) across all its brands. RevPAR is a key metric for the lodging industry. Base management and franchise fees declined 19%, while incentive management fees were down 66% from the prior year. Owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue decreased 54%, while adjusted timeshare sales and services revenue declined 24%. Worldwide comparable company-operated properties RevPAR decreased 26.1% (23.0% on a constant-dollar basis), while worldwide system-wide RevPAR fell 23.6% (21.4% on a constant-dollar basis). International company-operated RevPAR fell 31.5% (22.1% on a constant-dollar basis) including a 22.3% decline in average daily rate (11.6% using a constant-dollar basis). The results reflected the economic recession in addition to ...