utility costs
Gaining Control of Utility Costs
Robert Mandelbaum | April 2, 2024
By Robert Mandelbaum, Joe Snider Over the past four years, utility costs at U.S. hotels have increased at a pace greater than total operating revenue. As a result, utility department expenses increased from 2.9 percent of total revenue in 2019 to an estimated 3.3 percent in 2023. As hotels have struggled to recover from the pandemic, any rise in cost ratios is an area of concern for owners and operators. The good news is that the pace of growth appears to be slowing down. Year-over-year growth rates for utility expenditures have declined on a dollar per-available-room (PAR) basis from a high of 21.4% in 2022 to an estimated 4.0% in 2023...
New STR Survey Reveals Top Hospitality Industry Challenges and Strengths
STR | February 16, 2023
HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee – Labor-related issues and energy/utility costs are among the top challenges on the mind of global hotel and travel industry professionals, while leisure demand and increased guest spending are seen as the biggest strengths, according to a new survey from STR. The Hospitality Industry Sentiment survey is STR’s first longitudinal study of hotel and travel industry professionals, with initial findings captured between 29 November and 11 December 2022 from 200 respondents across the globe. “While respondents cited similar challenges around the globe, professionals in North America indicated that labor sup...
