In a further sign of industry recovery, the gross operating profit per available room at U.S. hotels reached positive territory in July for the first time since February, according to STR‘s latest monthly profit-and-loss data release.
In a year-over-year comparison with July 2019, the industry reported GOPPAR was down 93.3 percent to $5.74; total revenue per available room was down 74.1 percent to $60.04; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down 115.1 percent to -$9.24; and labor costs were down 64.8 percent to $28.46.
The industry had registered negative GOPPAR values for four consecutive months: March (-$2.10), April (-$17.98), May (-$10.26) and June (-$5.89).
“As the industry inched closer to 50 percent occupancy, we saw continued incremental improvement in the subsequent profitability metrics,” said Raquel Ortiz, STR’s assistant director of financial performance. “We are, of course, nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, but there were additional encouraging signs in positive GOPPAR for full-service hotels and six major markets.”
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., led the six markets with positive GOPPAR for the month at $40.64. Other positive markets were Anaheim/Santa Ana, Calif. ($15.89); Dallas ($9.48); Philadelphia/New Jersey ($5.50); Atlanta ($4.14); and Denver ($1.77).