“The states have to get together and do something very effective and consistent with their messaging,” said Rach.

Panelists in the 45-minute briefing, moderated by Jonathan Tisch, chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels Corp., also focused on other factors that could impact hotel bookings. Tisch noted that there’s a concern that the weakening euro could thin the ranks of European tourists whose travel to gateway cities helped stem the impact of the downturn in 2008 and 2009. Yet Jay Shah, CEO of Hersha Hospitality Trust, was optimistic that domestic travel could offset this.

Conversely, Tisch was upbeat about the potential renewal of business and conference travel. During the trough of the downturn, he said, “there was tremendous pressure on CEOs to cut costs. Cutting back on meetings was an easy fix.” Now, he said, corporate heads have begun to feel better about their bottom lines.

Rach warned that many companies have embraced teleconferencing, “and it’s not going away.” She said hoteliers shouldn’t overlook the cruise industry, either. “They’re making a determined effort to become the meeting venue of choice,” she said.

Some lodging chains have begun accommodating the lure of virtual meetings. Sorenson noted that Marriott has installed “telepresence centers” in six of his hotels, meant to offer teleconferencing facilities for local companies that aren’t set up to conduct such meetings effectively in their own offices. These facilities seem best suited for relatively small meetings of no more than a dozen participants, he said. However, he added, “We’ll continue to see companies want to come together in person.”