U.S. hotel occupancy improved week over week for the week of July 4-10, while average daily rate was the highest on record, according to STR's latest data. Occupancy was 67.2 percent, down 9.3 percent from the comparable week in 2019. Average daily rate was $139.84, up 5.4 percent, while revenue per available room was $93.99, down 4.4 percent.
Inflation aside, STR analysts note that hoteliers are taking advantage of pent-up leisure demand and higher-spending travelers while trying to counter staffing shortages and rising operational costs in some regions. Additionally, with demand mostly transient, there is not the usual lowering effect of discounted group rates at the higher end of the market. Most of the higher ADR performances are outside of the major metro markets.
Top Markets
Among the top 25 markets, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va., saw the highest occupancy increase over 2019, improving 3 percent to 80.5 percent. Minneapolis experienced the steepest decline in occupancy when compared with 2019, down 34.1 percent to 52.6 percent.
Miami reported the largest improvements in both ADR, up 44.7 percent to $225.14, and RevPAR, up 30.7 percent to $152.45, over 2019. The largest RevPAR drops were in San Francisco/San Mateo (down 55.2 percent to $89.11) and Boston (down 47.6 percent to $94.03).