Dominos

A problem facing many businesses is that they took short-term loans expecting to be able to refinance...

Mr. Butler said, and predicted that before the recession is over, the number of hotels in bankruptcy or foreclosure could rise above the 2,000 or so hit in the industry’s last major downturn in the 1990s.

The names on the front of the troubled hotels are the management companies, and they are well-known — Ritz-Carlton, InterContinental. But the actual owners of the hotels are investment groups, wealthy individuals or companies that specialize in lodging and are generally little-known outside the industry. Many owners took out loans to finance new construction or renovations when hotel occupancy rates were up and credit was readily available — just the opposite of the situation now, as those short-term loans are coming due.