Pies fail to deliver

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Ritz-Carlton brand of hotels has been hit worse in the slump than other brands in the Marriott family, and has recently launched a loyalty program as a result after holding out for a long time.

The following serving of pie charts shows the occupancy rates in the past three years. In the second layer of charts, I removed the data from the chart in order to show why this chart is not self-sufficient. Without the data printed directly on the chart, it is difficult to read the individual occupancy rates; and it is even harder to figure out that the decline was worse on the Ritz-Carlton brand.

A line chart brings out the message clearly and directly.