COVID-19 webinar summary: 5 key points on U.S. & Canada (2 April)

Without a doubt, COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on the hotel industry. U.S. RevPAR fell by double digits for the fourth week in a row, dropping 80.3% for the week ending 28 March—the steepest RevPAR decline for any week in STR’s database.

As STR continues its commitment to keeping the hospitality industry updated during the COVID-19 outbreak, our webinar series will provide in-depth updates on global regions. However, if you’re unable to watch the full session during this stressful period, you can find a summary of the key points below.

RevPAR drops 80% as number of cases increase

RevPAR has been decreasing as the number of COVID-19 cases increase in the United States. For the week ending 28 March, RevPAR declined 80.3%, the worst such RevPAR decrease in STR’s database.

Forecast: What to expect

As of 30 March, STR and Tourism Economics project a 50.6% RevPAR decline in 2020 in the U.S. due mostly to an occupancy decline (-42.6%), stemming from a 51.2% drop in demand. Room supply is also forecasted to decline 14.9% this year due to hotel closures in the country. However, GDP is forecast for healthy growth in 2021, driving an 81.8% room demand increase that will push occupancy up 57.3%.

Room nights sold continue to drop

For the week, there were still 8.5 million room nights sold in the U.S. However, that was less than half of the rooms sold during the week ending 7 March (23.1 million).

Extended Stay Brands are still holding occupancy quite well

The extended stay occupancy level in the United States was as high as 40.5%. However, over five of 10 rooms on average are occupied in the lower extended stay segment.

Canada Luxury Class Hotels: Almost a 100% RevPAR decline

Luxury hotels in Canada saw a 94.9% RevPAR decline for the week ending 28 March compared with the same week last year. That was followed by Upper Upscale Class hotels (-90.6%). This is obviously due to the lack of group and meeting demand.