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
What Does the Future Look Like for Australia Hotels?
STR | July 2, 2020
As markets slowly begin to reopen and leisure demand picks up, specifically on weekends, it is important to look towards business-on-the-books data to see how these markets will perform in the coming weeks and months. While evaluating past data is crucial for the industry, it is imperative to take a step into the future to see how your hotel may compare against your market or competitive set. STR’s Forward STAR reports do just that—look 90 or 365 days ahead with this report to strategize more efficiently by correlating uptake in bookings with your marketing and promotional campaigns, as well as events or conferences in your a...
Benchmarking Can Help Restructure Debt, Avoid Closures
STR | July 2, 2020
During a recent webinar on the impacts of COVID-19 on European hotels, STR Managing Director Robin Rossmann drew on his experience at Deloitte and shared with viewers an important practical application of benchmarking. No hotel has escaped the COVID-19 pandemic unscathed, which may make performance benchmarking appear less important. Rossmann warned against such complacency, reminding listeners, “that day will come” when lenders and lessors undertake restructuring analyses. When that happens, benchmarking will be more important than ever. Downturns cause financial distress Downturns of any nature can cause hotels or hot...
WTTC Says Even a Small Turn On the Travel Tap Could Be a Massive Boost for Struggling European Economies
July 2, 2020
London, UK: New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows even a modest increase of just one million more international arrivals into Europe could generate an extra $0.48 billion in GDP. This would provide a massive and much-needed economic boost for EU economies struggling to survive following the imposition of travel restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus. Many governments are evaluating reciprocal ‘travel corridors, including the UK government and those in Europe which are under immense pressure, to enable holidaymakers to take summer holidays and prevent the collapse of the Travel & Tourism se...
European Flight Bookings Reveal ‘London Is Falling’
June 30, 2020
London, UK: Flight booking data shows London has fallen to the bottom of the top 10 most booked European cities, as border restrictions and UK quarantine regulations choked travel, according to joint research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and ForwardKeys. In the first half of June last year as the holiday season was in full swing, London was the most heavily booked city in Europe for any date of arrival, followed by Paris and Rome. However, travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the quarantine rules imposed by the UK government, the capital has slumped to the bottom of the top 10. ...
The Importance of Sporting Events for the Las Vegas Market
Shannon Okada | June 30, 2020
By the time Nevada’s Governor Sisolak ordered the closure of Nevada’s non-essential businesses and urged residents to implement social-distancing measures to reduce the spreading of COVID-19 on March 17, 2020, the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA)had suspended their 2019-20 regular seasons, and Major League Baseball (MLB) had suspended its Spring Training and delayed the start of the 2020 regular season. In addition, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly known as March Madness, and the National Football League (NFL)’s plans to hold its ...
Short-Term Rental Occupancy in Nashville Showed Signs of Improvement in May
STR | June 29, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Nashville short-term rental properties showed significant improvement in May after the COVID-19 pandemic had led to down performance in April, according to STR. Occupancy for the sector increased 83% from April to May, reaching a level of 49.4%. In April, short-term rental occupancy fell to 27%. 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 singl...
As Europe’s COVID Cases Relent, Hoteliers Ready for Business Bounce
HotStats | June 25, 2020
European hoteliers breathed a sigh of relief in early May when the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced that region had passed the peak of coronavirus infections. Now comes the hard part: building back revenue and profitability. But if May data is any indication, things are getting better. As several countries started to loosen some of their lockdown restrictions, the prodigious profit drop in Europe's hotel industry showed a significant deceleration on a month-over-month (MOM) basis. GOPPAR in May was down 1.2% compared to the previous month, a welcome result in view of the 119.1% and 122.9% MOM plunges reco...
How Hotels Can Succeed in a Post-COVID World
HotStats | June 25, 2020
COVID-19 hit the travel industry like a tidal wave, and hotels have spent the past several months being tossed around like a cork. Now, for hoteliers, it's time to find the surface and start swimming. Make no mistake, hoteliers will need to adjust to a new normal going forward. But there are ways to power full steam ahead toward profitability. Here’s how hotels can succeed in a post-COVID-19 world: Construct a Recession-Proof Operation Hoteliers need to prepare for a bumpy ride. U.N. jobs reports put global job losses close to 200 million. Chances are that as things level off, many of those jobs will come back — but many won’t. ...
U.S. Hotel Profitability Improved in May, Limited-Service Properties Break Even at 45% Occupancy
STR | June 25, 2020
BROOMFIELD, Colorado—STR‘s latest monthly P&L data release shows U.S. hotel gross operating profit per available room down 110.1% in May. That percentage change was a slight improvement from April’s decline of 116.9%. Additionally, limited-service properties showed positive profitability on average when surpassing 45% occupancy. In a year-over-year comparison with May 2019, the industry reported the following: GOPPAR: -110.1% to US$-10.26 TRevPAR: -88.3% to US$28.62 EBIDTA PAR: -130.9% to US$-24.14 LPAR (Labor Costs): -69.5% to US$24.30 “Make no mistake, profits are still down significantly, and in many cases, ...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 20 June
STR | June 25, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 14-20 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 16-22 June 2019, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: -66.1% to 25.6% Average daily rate (ADR): -39.0 to CAD110.70 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -79.3% to CAD28.33 The previous three weeks produced absolute occupancy levels of 23.6%, 22.2% and 21.4%. British Columbia was the only province to reach a 30% occupancy level (31.7%). Saskatchewan (27.9%), Manitoba (26.8%) and Alberta (25.2%) were th...
STR: U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 20 June
STR | June 24, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. hotel performance data for the week ending 20 June showed another small rise from previous weeks and less severe year-over-year declines, according to STR. 14-20 June 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 43.9% (-41.8%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$92.20 (-31.7%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$40.48 (-60.3%) “Occupancy was up another couple percentage points from last week, marking the 10th consecutive week of such an increase,” said Jan Freitag, STR’s senior VP of lodging insights. “Demand continues to be pushed upward by drive-to spots and the des...
Here’s How COVID-19 Has Altered USALI Financial Reporting
HotStats | June 22, 2020
By Tanya Venegas Occupancy decimation isn’t the only curveball COVID-19 has thrown at hoteliers. Turns out, accounting procedures have been hard to figure out as well. Enter the Financial Management Committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), which is tasked with responding to inquiries regarding operational reporting under the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). They have now put forth guidelines concerning the reporting of alternative revenue sources and recording expenses rarely seen before in the lodging industry. In this blog, we will provide an overview of the reporting of COVID-...
STR: U.S. Hotel Performance for May 2020
STR | June 22, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel industry showed continued lower performance during May 2020, according to data from STR. In a year-over-year comparison with May 2019, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: -51.7% to 33.1% Average daily rate (ADR): -39.9% to US$79.57 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -71.0% to US$26.35 The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any May on record in the U.S., but all three key performance metrics were up from April levels. Recent weekly data shows occupancy above 40% due to a slow and steady rise in demand....
STR: U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 13 June
STR | June 18, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—U.S. hotel performance data ending with 13 June showed another small rise from previous weeks and less severe year-over-year declines, according to STR. 7-13 June 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019): Occupancy: 41.7% (-43.4%) Average daily rate (ADR): US$89.09 (-33.9%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$37.15 (-62.6%) “Powered by the slow and steady rise in weekly demand, the industry clawed its way above 40% occupancy,” said Alison Hoyt, STR’s senior director, consulting & analytics. “That was still down substantially from the comparable week last year (73.6%) b...
STR: Canada Hotel Results for Week Ending 13 June
STR | June 18, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—STR data for 7-13 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 9-15 June 2019, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: -68.0% to 23.6% Average daily rate (ADR): -39.8% to CAD108.23 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -80.7% to CAD25.57 The previous three weeks produced absolute occupancy levels of 22.2%, 21.4% and 18.9%. British Columbia (28.1%), Manitoba (25.9%) and Saskatchewan (25.0%) were the provinces with occupancy at or above 25%. Vancouver (26.1%) was ...
Indicators Show Travel and Hospitality Businesses Are Picking Up
Linchi Kwok | June 18, 2020
By Linchi Kwok Places are easing coronavirus restrictions. Travel companies are reopening their business with enhanced sanitizing measures. People are ready to travel again. Do you see early signs of recovery? Here are some positive updates, although it is still too early to claim it is business as usual. TSA The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that 430,414 people passed the security checkpoints at airports on Monday, June 8. That was about five times the record low traffic day of 87,543 in April and accounted for 16.27% of the air traffic in the same weekday one year ago at 2,644,981. It is worthy to...
New Study: Travel Spending in U.S. to Plunge 45% This Year
The U.S. Travel Association | June 17, 2020
WASHINGTON (June 17, 2020)—Total travel spending in the U.S. is predicted to drop 45% by the end of this year, spurring renewed calls for federal measures to support the industry that was one of the top U.S. employers and exporters prior to the pandemic. According to a forecast prepared for the U.S. Travel Association by Tourism Economics, domestic travel spending is forecast to drop 40% (from $972 billion in 2019 to $583 billion in 2020) while international inbound spending is expected to freefall a whopping 75% ($155 billion to $39 billion). Total domestic trips taken by U.S. residents are expected to fall 30% from last year to 1....
Thailand’s Tourism Recovery Hinged on Tapping Into 227 Million Strong Domestic Marketplace
C9 Hotelworks | June 17, 2020
BANGKOK - Thailand’s domestic-led tourism recovery was at the forefront of a virtual online event “TTF2020 – Special Bangkok Edition” today that tapped more than a 1,000 leading domestic and international travel and hotel industry participants. Research from hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications focused on domestic inter-Thailand visitor market whose size at more than 227 million in 2019 stole the limelight versus 39.8 million international visitors. This set the event stage for a compelling look into the pent-up demand of local travelers who are now being targeted by Thai ...
COVID-19 Threatens to Ruin a Record Year for Africa’s Hotel Developers
W Hospitality Group | June 17, 2020
LONDON, United Kingdom, June 17, 2020 - African hotel development had returned to growth at the start of 2020, with more than 78,000 rooms in 408 hotels in the pipeline, according to the 12th annual survey by W Hospitality Group, acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source. However, the COVID-19 outbreak is now shattering the dreams of Africa’s hotel industry. W Hospitality Group’s Managing Director, Trevor Ward, said: “The growth of the chains’ presence in Africa has been a very positive story since we started this analysis in 2009. It is quite clear from the numbers that the chains, the developers, the investors ...
Pulse Report: New Bookings Show Short-Term Resurgence
Duetto | June 12, 2020
The latest edition of our Pulse Report, which went live today, is showing us universally positive signs, with week on week increases in pick up for all four geographic regions we are tracking: North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC. Today’s Pulse Report, which tracks data from the last two weeks of May, shows us an initial wave of growing consumer confidence. However, bookings remain predominantly short-term at present, with the majority of consumers booking for stays within a 30-day lead time. North America has seen strong growth in new bookings week on week. May 25-31 (week 13) saw a 31% increase in new bookings compared to ...
Hotel Market Analysis: 8 Ways Hotels Should Combat the Crisis
EHL Hospitality Insights | June 11, 2020
An analysis of how Covid-19 has affected the hotel market and the importance of adapting to new parameters in staffing, marketing and technology to avoid extinction. Impactful consequences of the current crisis The coronavirus has taken an unprecedented toll on the travel industry. At the time of writing, every single actor has been taking concrete actions and cutting costs to keep their head above water. As a hotelier, you have most likely had to make fast and difficult choices to shelter your business from the crisis, involving an immediacy factor often leaving you with nose to the grindstone, unable to craft a long-term strategy. However...
How COVID-19 Is Eating Into Hotel Profit
HotStats | June 9, 2020
COVID-19 plunged a knife in the collective heart of the global hotel industry and in one fell swoop destroyed demand, sending revenue and profit to historically low levels. This global pandemic is the most harrowing event to ever besiege the hospitality industry. As stridently as room sales have plummeted, the crash in food and beverage (F&B) is even louder. We reviewed March data to see how deeply the F&B department has cratered and what this means for Conference and Banqueting (C&B) and other areas of the profit-and-loss statement (P&L). The volume of business for U.S. hotels decreased dramatically in March: a 48.8-per...
Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index rises 1.7% in May
Baird | June 9, 2020
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee, and MILWAUKEE—The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index rose 1.7% in May to a level of 3,232. Year to date through the first five months of 2020, the stock index was down 38.7%. “Hotel stocks were relatively flat in May, which reflected underperformance during the first part of the month but a sharp reversal in the back half of May as the broader re-opening trade gained momentum and stock prices recovered,”said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. “Industry data continues to be less bad on a sequential weekly basis, and investors’ worst-case zero-occupancy scenarios, which incl...
The Middle East’s Hotel Construction Pipeline Shows Slight Deceleration in the First Quarter of 2020*
Lodging Econometrics | June 8, 2020
June 8, 2020 – PORTSMOUTH, NH - Analysts at Lodging Econometrics (LE) state in the first quarter of 2020, the hotel construction pipeline in the Middle East decelerated slightly to 607 projects/172,182 rooms, down 3% and 5% respectively, year-over-year (YOY). Projects currently under construction are at 357 projects/114,817 rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 113 projects/27,872 rooms, and projects in the early planning stage are at 137 projects/29,493 rooms. The Middle East had 15 new hotels/6,527 rooms open in the first quarter of 2020. Countries with the greatest number of projects in the...
