经济学人:实体酒店亏损是必然?在线中介狂揽利润

 　　Business: Hospitality Stay with me

　　商业：酒店业，别离开我
　　As online rivals whizz ahead, hotels try to be both big and nimble.
　　眼看网络竞争对手飕飕前进，各酒店力求变得大而灵活。
　　HOTEL companies check out well just now.
　　酒店企业最近表现不错。
　　On May 3rd Hyatt became the latest chain to report sunny results—profits were up by 55% over the same quarter in 2015.
　　5月3日，凯悦成为最新发来喜讯的连锁酒店——其利润率相比2015年同季度增长55%。
　　In America RevPAR (revenue divided by rooms available in a given period) has risen for the past six years, according to STR, a data outfit 1.
　　据数据机构STR报告，在美国，单间可用房收益（指一定时间内的客房总收入除以可用客房总数）过去六年持续上升。
　　Analysts 2 debate when fortunes will change.
　　分析家们已经开始讨论好运何时会到头的这个问题。
　　America’s market has been buoyed 3 by a temporary mismatch of slow-growing supply and robust 4 demand.
　　美国市场缓慢增长的供给和强劲的需求之间存在着一种暂时性的错位，而美国市场正是靠这点才支撑到今天。
　　In the long term, however, the greatest uncertainty 5 is not cyclical, but structural 6, as online firms change the industry’s shape.
　　但是从长远看来，随着线上公司逐渐改变该行业格局，最大的不确定性不是在于周期，而在于结构。
　　Neither Airbnb, a room-sharing site, nor online travel agents are hotels’ obvious adversaries 7.
　　不管是空房租赁网站Airbnb，还是网上旅行社都不是实体酒店的显著竞争对手。
　　Big hotel chains subsist 8 on weary business travellers; Airbnb does not.
　　大的连锁酒店主要靠疲惫的商务旅客赚钱，而Airbnb却不是。
　　Yet the growing popularity of the platform, now valued at around $25 billion, means it may siphon more guests from hotels in future.
　　然而这个现在市值250亿美元的住宿预订平台，其日益增长的受欢迎程度意味着其未来可能从酒店吸引走更多客户。
　　Booking sites help hotels but chomp 9 into their margins 10 with fees of up to 25%.
　　预定网站对酒店有一定帮助，但高达25%的中介费却使酒店利润大减。
　　Last year they accounted for nearly one in five bookings in America, up from one in ten in 2006, according to Phocuswright, a research firm.
　　据研究机构Phocuswright报告，在美国，来自网站的房间预订占比从2006的十分之一上涨到去年的近五分之一。
　　In Europe, where the hotel market is more fragmented, online agents account for one in four.
　　在酒店市场较为分散的欧洲，在线中介的比例则达到了四分之一。
　　For hotel firms, one solution is to get bigger.
　　对于酒店集团来说，解决方法之一就是扩大经营规模。
　　After a bidding war with Anbang, a Chinese insurer, Marriott agreed to buy Starwood for more than $13 billion last month.
　　上个月，经历了一场与中国保险公司安邦之间的投标大战后，万豪同意以超过130亿美元的价格收购喜达屋。
　　The result will be a 1.1m room behemoth. Other firms are bulking up, too.
　　这意味着一个拥有110万间客房的巨型企业由此诞生。其他公司也在扩大其规模。
　　Last year saw $67 billion of hotel mergers 11, according to Dealogic, a research firm—the highest level since 2007.
　　据研究机构Dealogic称，去年酒店企业并购金额达670亿美元，创下自2007年以来的最高记录。
　　Scale will help hotels battle their main competitors: other hotels.
　　巨大的规模将使酒店在与其主要对手（其他酒店）竞争时更具优势。
　　But the recent spate 12 of deals is also a response to challengers online.
　　但最近的并购热潮也是对其网络对手的一种回应。
　　A bigger hotel firm can seek lower fees from online travel agents.
　　酒店公司越大，需要付给网上旅游代理商的钱就可以越少。
　　Investments in technology can be deployed 13 across more rooms.
　　技术上的投资可以用于覆盖更多的房间。
　　And the more hotels a firm manages, the more credibly 14 it can urge travellers to bypass third parties and look for rooms on its own site, as Hilton, InterContinental Hotels and others are doing.
　　并且如果一个企业运营的酒店数目越多，它就越能说服旅行者们绕过第三方，直接登录酒店官网预订房间，例如希尔顿，洲际酒店等酒店就是如此。
　　Hotels are also finding new partners or acquiring firms outright 15.
　　酒店也在需找新的合作伙伴或直接并购整个公司。
　　On April 5th AccorHotels, a French firm, said it would buy onefinestay, an upscale rival to Airbnb.
　　4月5日，法国酒店集团雅高称其将收购“高端版” Airbnb的对手Onefinestay。
　　InterContinental, which was due to hold its annual meeting on May 6th, is partnering with a company called Amadeus to launch a new, cloud-based reservation system that gives more personalised service.
　　本该在5月6日召开年会的洲际酒店却正忙于与一家叫Amadeus的公司联手推出一个全新的云端预订系统以提供更个性化的服务。
　　Despite such efforts, it will be difficult for hotel firms to keep up.
　　尽管做出了这些努力，酒店还是很难保持其发展势头。
　　They cannot beat online firms’ reach.
　　网络公司的覆盖面要比他们大得多。
　　Airbnb has more rooms than even the combined Marriott and Starwood; online travel agents’ inventory 16 is broader still.
　　例如，Airbnb所拥有的房间甚至比合并后的Marriot和Starwood都要多，而网上旅游中介的房间存量更多。
　　Expedia’s scale is particularly worrisome for hotel companies.
　　Expedia的规模尤其令酒店企业担忧。
　　Its sites include not just Expedia. com but Travelocity, Hotwire, Hotels. com and Orbitz—an acquisition regulators declined to challenge in September to the dismay of hotel chains.
　　它所拥有的网站不仅仅有Expedia.com还有Travelocity，Hotwire，Hotels.com and Orbitz—监管机构在九月份拒绝提出质疑的这一收购行为使得酒店连锁业倍感沮丧。
　　Less than two months later, Expedia said it would pay $3.9 billion to buy HomeAway, which helps property owners rent their houses to those who want them for a holiday.
　　一个月多后，Expedia称其将以39亿美元的价格收购HomeAway。HomeAway主要致力于帮助房主出租房屋给那些需要房子度假的人。
　　Matching online firms’ agility 17 will be equally challenging.
　　想要变得像线上公司那样灵活也同样不容易。
　　Airbnb is trying to attract business types by helping 18 them find homes with wireless 19 internet, 24-hour access and a desk.
　　Airbnb正试图通过寻找带有无线网络和办公桌并且能全天候入住的房间，以此吸引商务人士入住。
　　Expedia plans to offer more listings that show hotel rooms beside houses and flats.
　　Expedia还计划提供更多住宿信息，供顾客查询房屋和公寓附近的酒店房间。
　　Such a move could make both Airbnb and hoteliers bristle 20.
　　该举动可能会使Airbnb和酒店老板们大为恼火。
　　1.slow-growing 生长缓慢的
　　例句:They probably over-estimate the appeal of slow-growing Western markets.
　　他们大概高估了增长缓慢的西方市场的吸引力。
　　2.keep up 保持
　　例句:She shook her head and started to walk on. He kept up with her.
　　她摇了摇头开始往前走。他跟了上去。
　　3.bulk up 胀大；蓬松
　　例句:Holyfield has bulked up to 210 pounds using weights.
　　霍利菲尔德体重增到了210磅。
　　4.check out 检查；结账离开
　　例句:They packed and checked out of the hotel.
　　他们收拾好东西，办理了退房手续。