Times are still tough for the hotel sector these days, whichmeans more lodging properties are likely to fall into distress inthe coming year. The forecast for the remainder of 2010 isn’t muchbrighter, with hotel occupancy expected to remain flat at 55%,average daily rate decreasing 3.2% to $94.39 and revenue peravailable room dropping 3.2% to $51.99, according to Smith TravelResearch.

Last week’s GlobeSt.com Quick Poll, with approximately 200 votescast, shows that 60% of readers think things will get crazier forhotel distress, while the other 40% believe we’ve seen the worst.Paul Sexton, vice president with Hospitality Real Estate Counselorsin Orlando and a 20-year veteran of hotel real estate, gives histhoughts on the matter.

“On the operations side of the equation, we’ve probably seen theworst of it. Rooms sold actually rose 2.6% in January, occupancieshave bottomed out and there is a realistic expectation that revPARwill swing positive by the third or fourth quarter of this year.Because most operators did an excellent job of cutting costs, cashflow will show huge improvements once revenues go positive.