In 2009, the hotel industry had more than its fair share of reorganizations, budget cuts, profit warnings and lay-offs. Property employees as well as head office staff  were sometimes reluctant to open their inbox, afraid that more bad news would be announced.

But what about the top jobs, what about the CEO's? When a football club is in trouble, the coach is usually fired – so one would think that the heat is on for many Presidents of large hotel companies. A study by HSV Executive search shows, however,  that 2009 was a relatively quiet year for top job hunters. Compared to 2008, there was a 50% drop in Executive movement: as a matter of fact, succession rate was the lowest it has been for the past five years.

Why are there so few executives on the move? There are a couple of reasons. Some  of them are quite surprising. We have listed the most important reasons.