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U.S. hotel industry posts record levels in 2019, but lowest growth since recession

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HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The U.S. hotel industry registered record-breaking performance levels during 2019 but its lowest growth rate in revenue per available room (RevPAR) since the current cycle began in 2010, according to data from STR.

Compared with 2018:

  • Occupancy: flat at 66.1%
  • Average daily rate (ADR): +1.0% to US$131.21
  • Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +0.9% to US$86.76


The absolute ADR and RevPAR values were the highest STR has ever benchmarked. The industry also set records for supply (more than 1.9 billion room nights available) and demand (roughly 1.3 billion room nights sold). Based on percentage growth for the year, supply and demand increased at the same rate (+2.0%).  

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“The industry turned in another record year in terms of rooms available, rooms sold and rooms revenue,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president. “As was documented throughout 2019, however, RevPAR growth came in lower than any year since the recession and well below the long-term historical average of 3.2%. With supply and demand growing in equilibrium, ADR is the sole driver of RevPAR gains. Unfortunately, with ADR rising below the rate of inflation, revenue growth is not keeping up with rising costs, such as increases in wages. That is a concern for owners and operators alike.

“Moving forward, we’re not forecasting much of a change from the current fundamentals. Supply growth has remained manageable at the national level, but there is an uneven amount of new inventory in the limited-service sectors as well as certain major markets. That is where we will see the greatest challenges as the industry embarks on another year of low performance growth levels.”

Among the Top 25 Markets, Phoenix, Arizona, experienced the highest rise in occupancy (+1.6% to 70.7%) and RevPAR (+4.5% to US$94.23).

Super Bowl LIII host Atlanta, Georgia, reported the year’s largest lift in ADR (+4.2% to US$114.54).

Two markets tied for the second-highest increase in occupancy: Denver, Colorado (+1.3% to 73.9%) and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (+1.3% to 72.3%).

Denver registered the second-largest spike in RevPAR (+4.3% to US$100.27).

Influenced by supply growth of 5.9%, Seattle, Washington, reported the steepest decline in RevPAR (-4.0% to US$118.86).  

Houston, Texas, posted the largest drop in ADR (-3.2% to US$101.89).

Three markets matched for the steepest decrease in occupancy: San Diego, California (-2.3% to 76.7%); Boston, Massachusetts (-2.3% to 73.9%); and Detroit, Michigan (-2.3% to 65.6%).

Q4 2019

Specifically during the fourth quarter of 2019, U.S. hotel occupancy fell 0.1% to 61.8%, ADR was up 0.7% to US$128.94 and RevPAR increased 0.7% to US$79.69.

Among the Top 25 Markets, San Francisco/San Mateo, California, recorded the largest jump in RevPAR (+7.4% to US$193.35).

Oahu Island, Hawaii, posted the largest lift in ADR (+4.3% to US$247.91) and the second-highest increase in RevPAR (+7.1% to US$204.94).

Houston, Texas, experienced the highest rise in occupancy (+3.7% to 60.6%).

Boston, Massachusetts, reported the steepest decline in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (-6.5% to 70.3%), ADR (-5.5% to US$192.80) and RevPAR (-11.6% to US$135.46).

 

A note to editors: All references to STR data and analysis should cite “STR” as the source. Please refrain from citing “STR, Inc.” “Smith Travel Research” or “STR Global” in sourcing.

Additional Performance Data
STR’s world-leading hotel performance sample comprises 67,000 hotels and 9.0 million hotel rooms around the globe. Please refer to the contacts listed below for additional data requests.

About STR

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit str.com and costargroup.com.

North America Media Contact:
Haley Luther
Communications Coordinator
hluther@str.com
+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3500


General Media Inbox:
media@str.com

 

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