HotelChatter

CEO Richard Solomons, who spoke to Bloomberg Television yesterday, shrugged off concerns about the US economy. Additionally, Solomons sees the riots in London as a "short term" setback, and emphasizes the long-term major market trends. In plain English: there will always be demand for mid-scale hotels.

Solomons gave one explanation for the company's success in the first six months of 2011:

"The hotel business is long term game. So you've got people who are invested in the long-term and they're not necessarily worried too much about the short term. But even if there is a downturn, our business model, and the fact that the core of our business is in that mid-scale market...we are actually well-placed to deal with the market if there is a downturn.

We saw leisure business grow and we're still seeing it. So people are just traveling more; it's almost a fact of life now."

So far, no English hotels have reported damage, despite the fact that major department stores have lost thousands of pounds in stolen goods.

[Photo: Bloomberg]