Here’s How COVID-19 Has Altered USALI Financial Reporting
HotStats | June 22nd, 2020
The Middle East’s Ghastly Hotel Numbers in April Could Be the Bottom
HotStats | June 3rd, 2020
Africa Traveler & Hotel Guest Sentiment Survey
Tim Smith | July 27, 2020
By Tim Smith COVID-19 has, and continues to, dramatically impact every aspect of our lives. At the time of writing globally there have been approximately 13.5M cases and 580,000 deaths. Almost every country has had restrictions placed on their daily lives. However, perhaps the most challenging aspect of the pandemic is the uncertainty. No-one knows how long it will go on for or when we will be able to start a meaningful recovery. The tourism and hospitality industry has been hit the hardest, airlines not flying, hotels not open, conferences postponed and no customers for restaurants and bars. It doesn’t matter the size or stre...
The U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Remains Robust Through the First Half of 2020, Despite Pandemic.*
Lodging Econometrics | July 27, 2020
July 27, 2020 – PORTSMOUTH, NH - Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) report that at the close of the second quarter of 2020, the total U.S. hotel construction pipeline stands at 5,582 projects/687,801 rooms, down a mere 1% by projects and rooms, Year-Over-Year (YOY). Remarkably, despite some project cancelations, postponements, and delays, there has been minimal impact on the U.S. construction pipeline. Contrary to what is being experienced with hotel operations, the pipeline remains robust as interest rates are at all-time lows. Projects currently under construction stand at 1,771 projects/235,467 rooms, up 3% and 1% respectively, Y...
Nashville Short-Term Rental Performance Continued to Rise in June
STR | July 23, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Nashville short-term rental properties showed further improvement in June after higher occupancy was seen in May, according to STR. Occupancy for the sector increased 15.5% from May to June, reaching a level of 56.7%. In May, short-term rental occupancy was at 49.1%. STR, the leader in global hospitality benchmarking and analytics, maintains the world’s largest hotel performance database. Nashville is the first short-term rental market where STR is expanding its benchmarking offerings via a pilot study. Included in STR’s short-term rental sample are both multi-family and single-family short-term rentals, ...
STR: U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 18 July
STR | July 23, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. hotel performance data for the week ending 18 July showed slightly higher occupancy and room rates from the previous week, according to STR. 12-18 July 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 47.5% (-38.9%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$98.56 (-28.0%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$46.87 (-56.0%) U.S. occupancy has risen week over week for 13 of the last 14 weeks, although growth in demand (room nights sold) has slowed recently. Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed lower occupancy (40.3%) and ADR (US$97.16) than all other markets. Norfolk/Vir...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 18 July
STR | July 23, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 12-18 July 2020 shows a continued steady rise in Canadian hotel performance but the same significant level of year-over-year declines. In comparison with the week of 14-20 July 2019, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: -57.1% to 33.3% Average daily rate (ADR): -31.6% to CAD122.94 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -70.7% to CAD40.92 Two provinces reached a 40% occupancy level: British Columbia (44.5%) and Manitoba (41.9%). Vancouver (33.1%) was the only major market at or above the 30% mark. The lowest occupancy among provinces was reported in Prince Edward Island (...
INDUSTRY REPORT: Hotel Investment Scene in Central & Eastern Europe
July 23, 2020
By Kimberly Yoong Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) may have, in the past, been perceived as a relatively unstable investment region, especially for the risk averse. However, record hotel investment volumes in the last years have proven otherwise, as investors begin looking to hotel real estate in the region, drawn by the relatively higher returns of hotels and more attractive yields compared to western Europe, which are typically more compressed. Expectedly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will significantly affect hotel investment activity in the region, as uncertainty continues to grip the world across industries. Nonetheless, the sec...
STR: U.S. Hotel Performance for Q2 2020
STR | July 22, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel industry reported its worst quarter on record during Q2 2020, according to data from STR. In a year-over-year comparison with Q2 2019, the industry posted the following: Occupancy: -52.1% to 33.5% Average daily rate (ADR): -37.1% to US$83.59 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -69.9% to US$27.98 The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any quarter in STR’s U.S. database. The year-over-year declines in the each of the three key performance metrics were the worst for any quarter on record. Among the Top 25 Markets, Oahu Island, Ha...
STR, AirDNA Analysis of Short-Term Rentals and Hotels in 27 Global Markets
STR | July 22, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee and DENVER, Colorado—Short-term rentals have maintained higher performance levels than hotels during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the preliminary findings of a joint global analysis by STR and AirDNA. The full analysis will be made available via each company’s website and through press release distribution during the coming weeks. Additional preliminary findings will be shared this Thursday, 23 July, via a Cloudbeds webinar featuring Scott Shatford (AirDNA founder and CEO) and Robin Rossmann (STR’s managing director). For the purpose of the analysis, STR and AirDNA looked specifically a...
COVID-19’s Potential Lasting Impact on Fixed vs Variable Hotel Expense Ratios
CBRE authors | July 22, 2020
By Mark VanStekelenburg, Kannan Sankaran, Andy Hartley and Vanessa Gonzalez As a result of COVID-19, hotel operators have been forced to make tough decisions, including the most basic one on whether to keep the lights on. Many were required to close their doors after municipal mandates were put in place and some decided to remain open, despite record-low occupancy levels, to house pandemic-related first responders and other essential personnel related to the fallout from the spread of coronavirus, largely in place of more traditional sources of demand during “normal times”. Depending on the type of hotel and its service level, the deci...
STR: U.S. Hotel Performance for June 2020
STR | July 21, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—The U.S. hotel industry showed slightly higher performance from the month prior, but at overall low levels during June 2020, according to data from STR. In a year-over-year comparison with June 2019, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: -42.5% to 42.2% Average daily rate (ADR): -31.5% to US$92.15 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -60.6% to US$38.88 The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any June on record in the U.S., but all three key performance metrics were up from May levels. July weekly data shows occupancy above 45% due to a slow and steady rise in demand t...
The Email Benchmarks – How Is Email Impacting Reopening?
Nicki Graham | July 15, 2020
By Nicki Graham How has reopening affected key email marketing metrics? In our recent Email Benchmark Report, we saw that even through a global pandemic, email continued to reign as the favored channel of communication for marketing and business. It has forged its way as one of the most effective ways to stay connected in a socially distanced world. As stated in our report, we saw a spike in email open and click-through rates and an increase in nights per booking in March and April 2020. This increase in nights per booking was due to a number of factors and different circumstances across the globe, but namely because those hotels...
Recovery Is When Gen Zers and Millennials Travel for Business
Linchi Kwok | July 15, 2020
By Linchi Kwok Gen Z and Millennials are key to travel industry’s recovery That was the headline of a Travel Pulse report, which quoted a GlobalData survey. The survey suggests that younger and wealthier travelers would be the first to resume international leisure travel when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Both generations belong to the younger group of travelers, with the oldest Millennials just turning 39 this year. That assumption is probably right, but Gen Zers and the Millennials have their concerns too. For example, Gen Z – “A worried generation” Gen Zers are those who were born after 1996 or 2000, dependi...
Strong Indications Consumer Confidence Is Slowly Returning
Duetto | July 13, 2020
By Sarah McCay Tams Consumer confidence is slowly returning, with two main trends: short-term booking windows and long-term reservations towards the end of 2021, reports the latest edition of the Duetto Pulse Report, which tracked data from June 15-28 across three key hotel metrics - bookings, cancellations and web traffic. In North America, new bookings for July, August, and September saw double-digit growth in the current Pulse Report, when compared to data from the previous edition, which tracked data from June 1-14. Overall, pick up for the North American market is still pacing 42% behind same time last year (STLY), although some...
Breaking Even and the 5 Stages of Grief
HotStats | July 9, 2020
By David Eisen In 1969, Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross published “On Death and Dying,” which posited five stages of grief: Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance Hotel owners have been made to suffer through these phases at the cruel hands of COVID-19, which at its outset thoroughly destroyed the collective industry, bringing travel to a halt, wrecking revenue and drying up profit. After the preceding years of relative operational success, 2020 was the wakeup call the hotel industry didn’t want to hear, but was forced to. When occupancy rates instantly fell 50 percentage points, ho...
STR: U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 4 July
STR | July 9, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. hotel performance data for the week ending 4 July showed a slight decline in occupancy from the previous week, according to STR. 28 June through 4 July 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 45.6% (-30.2%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$101.36 (-20.9%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$46.21 (-44.8%) Occupancy had risen in week-to-week comparisons for 11 straight weeks since mid-April. “Demand came in 67,000 rooms lower than the previous week, and beyond that, July 1 was a reopening day for a lot of hotels, further impacting the occupancy equation,” said J...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 4 July
STR | July 9, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 28 June through 4 July 2020 shows Canadian hotel performance up slightly from previous weeks with the same significant level of year-over-year declines. In comparison with the week of 30 June through 6 July 2019, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: -59.6% to 28.9% Average daily rate (ADR): -33.1% to CAD121.68 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -73.0% to CAD35.16 The previous three weeks produced absolute occupancy levels of 27.5%, 25.6% and 23.6%. Two provinces reached a 30% occupancy level: British Columbia (40.8%) and Manitoba (31.3%). Vancouver (30.8%) was the only ...
Investable Hotel Market in Germany Hit All-Time High in 2019 – Consolidation Expected
July 9, 2020
The investable hotel market in Germany has grown to EUR 61.1 billion over the last 12 years. Even during the financial crisis of 2008/2009 the market expanded slightly overall. The latest calculations by Union Investment and bulwiengesa show that the investable hotel market in Germany increased in value by around 6.3 per cent compared to 2018 (EUR 57.5 billion). As in previous years, growth in 2019 (prior year: +9.5 per cent) was due to sustained strong new-build activity in the hotel sector (= quantity effect) and increasing asset values (= performance effect), reflecting the excellent tourism and property market environment in Germany in 20...
Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index Falls 5.3% in June
Baird | July 8, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee, and MILWAUKEE—The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index fell 5.3% in June to a level of 3,060. Year to date through the first six months of 2020, the stock index was down 41.9%. "Hotel stocks were volatile in June as the broader reopening trade continued into the early part of the month; the Hotel Brand and Hotel REIT Sub-Indices were up more than 19% and nearly 37%, respectively, through six trading days,”said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. “However, the momentum reversed course, and hotel stocks finished the month approximately 5% lower as rising coronavirus case counts in ...
Hotel Sentiment Survey Results: What Does Re-Opening Look Like During a Pandemic?
Nicki Graham | July 8, 2020
By Nicki Graham In a recent survey conducted at Cendyn, we spoke with hoteliers from across the globe and asked them how they are managing their re-opening strategy during a global pandemic. As a reminder to all, hotels are in different situations across the globe – not every hotel is closed right now but many were closed for a significant time and are just re-opening or planning to re-open, albeit at a limited capacity. There are also a number of hotels that are closed for the foreseeable future. This survey is focused on re-opening strategies for hotels across the globe and what their priorities are during this uncertain time. We look ...
The Shorter The Better: ‘Quickie Trips’ Are Trending as a Majority of Americans Look to Travel This Summer With Added Precautions
Hotwire | July 8, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, July 8, 2020 - After months of quarantine, Americans are reporting feelings of isolation, burnout and that they are in need of a break, but have yet to take one. A new survey* conducted by online travel site Hotwire® reveals 62% of Americans haven't taken a vacation day since the start of COVID but interest in local travel and shorter trips is rapidly growing. In fact, 72% of Americans are still planning or are interested in summer travel this year, despite taking added precautions to stay healthy. As people slowly look to test the travel waters, Hotwire has teamed up with brain-health expert and New York Times Best Selling A...
STR: U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 27 June
STR | July 6, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. hotel performance data for the week ending 27 June showed another small rise from previous weeks and less severe year-over-year declines, according to STR. 21-27 June 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 46.2% (-38.7%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$95.37 (-29.0%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$44.03 (-56.5%) Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed lower occupancy (40.0%) than the national average and only slightly higher ADR (US$95.43). Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, was the only one of those major markets to reach a 60% occupancy level (61.4...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 27 June
STR | July 6, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 21-27 June 2020 shows Canadian hotel performance up slightly from previous weeks with the same significant level of year-over-year declines. In comparison with the week of 23-29 June 2019, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: -62.2% to 27.5% Average daily rate (ADR): -35.4% to CAD114.27 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -75.6% to CAD31.38 The previous three weeks produced absolute occupancy levels of 25.6%, 23.6% and 22.2%. Two provinces reached a 30% occupancy level: British Columbia (35.6%) and Manitoba (30.2%). Vancouver (30.0%) was the only major market at or above...
COVID-19: Impact on Forward Hotel Bookings in Key European Markets
STR | July 2, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges for global hospitality, with travel restrictions and lockdown measures forcing hotel closures and performance declines that exceed the levels witnessed during the global financial crisis and other challenging times for the industry. An area of the industry where the impact continues to evolve is business on the books, or reservations booked for future dates. To provide a forward-looking view of the COVID-19 impact on hotel performance, STR utilized data from Forward STAR to analyze business on the books for key European hotel markets Forward STAR data is processed on a ...
Early Effects of COVID-19 on Travelers and Their Motivations
STR | July 2, 2020
COVID-19 and the ensuing global economic crisis have caused dramatic changes for the travel industry that may take years to fully resolve. Over the past few months, STR has been releasing insights from research conducted during March and April 2020 about shifting consumer willingness to travel as COVID-19 spread. First we looked at how travelers from different markets reacted, then we assessed how travelers who used different accommodation types planned to adapt their travel plans. In this piece we look at the impact on future travel plans by respondents’ age and motivations for choosing destinations. As in both of our previ...
