We managed to catch up with Rushmore, CEO of global mega-consultants HVS, to see how he views the current economic situation in the hospitality sector.  There had been so many dramatic changes since we had interviewed him less than a year ago. Here are some highlights on how he sees it all playing out:

•  "The good news, we think, is that there will be a turnaround by this time next year," Rushmore asserts. He goes further in saying, "Meetings and leisure will come back strongly because of pent-up demand."
• On the luxury front, Rushmore says, "The beauty of owning a luxury hotel today, for those who can hold on, is that they will not have new competition for the foreseeable future." 

• The development outlook is more positive outside the U.S. where, says Rushmore, "there is still a lot of opportunity to develop at most price levels - perhaps not 5-star but a lot of 4-star hotels to fill in market gaps."
• HVS, where Rushmore is pleased to say that the consulting business is booming, is still doing "a lot of feasibility studies" because "developers want to develop." Granted, those studies are mostly for mid-level hotels,  but for those who can get financing, Rushmore see this as a good time to develop "because land is cheap and so are construction costs."
• At the same time, Rushmore adds, "A farsighted luxury developer might do a feasibility study today for a hotel that might not open until 2014 when the marketplace might be very different.
• Finally, on our editorial view that the affluent, particularly those with annual incomes of $150,000, now accessing ‘luxury for less',  may help lead the industry of the recession - well, Rushmore has his reservations. His position: "While luxury hotels might be accessible now, that will not be the case as rates will rise quickly with the recovery. "

- Harvey Chipkin and Hershel Sarbin