Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

Report: Short-term rentals’ RevPAR nearly back to 2019 levels

STR, AirDNA release full report on short-term rentals v. hotels

U.S. HOTELS ARE seeing improvements in occupancy since the low point of the COVID-19 pandemic, but short-term apartment rentals are recovering faster, according to the final version of a report from STR and AirDNA. In fact, short-term rentals are approaching the same RevPAR levels that they saw last year.

The whitepaper, “COVID-19 impact on hotels and short-term rentals,” examines 27 global markets to analyze the performance of traditional hotels along with hotel-comparable short-term rentals (studios and 1-bedroom units) and larger short-term rentals (2 bedrooms or more). It used weekly data from January 2019 through the week ending with June 27, 2020.


Preliminary results from the study released last week found that during the most recent week of the analysis, larger short-term rentals had the highest occupancy, 61.4 percent. Short-term rentals most comparable with hotels came in at 58.2 percent, while traditional hotels were at 39.2 percent.

The final results were similar. For the entire time period of the study, hotel RevPAR was 64.8 percent lower than the previous year. Short-term rental RevPAR, on the other hand, was down 4.5 percent year over year.

Other key findings include:

  • Hotels bottomed out at 17.5 percent occupancy for the week ending March 28, while short-term rentals fell to a low of 34.3 percent. Hotels were hit harder due to greater reliance on group demand and business travel. Largely a result of its further drop, hotel occupancy has since increased 124 percent from its low point.
  • Occupancy decreased uniformly within all the 27 markets covered, with the exception of short-term rentals in Atlantic City. New Orleans was among the worst-hit markets for both hotels and short-term rentals.
  • The migration of travelers toward midscale and economy class properties led to steeper declines in hotel ADR. Nashville and Austin saw more pronounced demand declines for higher-end hotels compared with the lower end of the market.
  • Through the early stages of performance recovery, regional markets have performed better than their urban counterparts for both hotels and short-term rentals. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is one example.

Hotel investment advisors The Highland Group released a study in early July that also found short-term rentals were outpacing hotels during the downturn. Demand and revenue for the short-term rental for the first four months of 2020 were both down from the same time last year, 15 percent and 22 percent respectively. The same metrics for hotels fell 32 percent and 35 percent, according The Highlands Group’s US Short-Term Rental Market Report 2020.

More for you

U.S. Firms Lose $2.4 Trillion by Skimping on Business Travel

Report: Business travel gaps cost U.S. firms $2.4T

Summary:

  • U.S. companies risk losing more than $2.4 trillion in sales due to underinvestment in business travel, says GBTA.
  • An 8.3 percent T&E increase could drive a 6 percent sales gain, despite post-COVID virtual meeting tools.
  • Current T&E spending is $294 billion—$24 billion short of the $319.1 billion needed for peak profitability.

U.S. COMPANIES ARE missing more than $2.4 trillion in potential sales due to underinvestment in business travel, according to a Global Business Travel Association report. Despite a post-pandemic rebound, travel and entertainment spending remains $66 billion below 2019 levels.

Keep ReadingShow less
Newly renovated Marriott Saddle Brook hotel in New Jersey, now managed by Stonebridge Cos.

Stonebridge to manage Marriott in Saddle Brook, NJ

Summary:

  • Stonebridge Cos. has added the Marriott Saddle Brook in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, to its full-service portfolio.
  • The renovated property is owned by Victory Worldwide LLC, led by CEO Anil Monga.
  • Located 20 miles from New York City, it is near the Meadowlands Sports Complex, Garden State Plaza and Hackensack University Medical Center.

STONEBRIDGE COS. RECENTLY added the 244-room Marriott Saddle Brook in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, to its full-service managed portfolio. The property is owned by Victory Worldwide LLC, led by CEO Anil Monga.

Keep ReadingShow less
International bookings drop at US mountain hotels; occupancy dips despite rate hikes, DestiMetrics reports

Report: Travel decline weighs on western resorts

Summary:

  • International tourism to U.S. western mountain destinations fell in May, lowering occupancy 0.7 percent, according to DestiMetrics.
  • Summer booking hesitancy persisted as bookings from Canada, Europe and Mexico declined.
  • DestiMetrics tracks data from about 28,000 lodging units across 17 mountain destinations in seven western states.

MOUNTAIN DESTINATIONS IN the western U.S. saw a drop in international tourism in May amid economic uncertainty, affecting resort occupancy, according to DestiMetrics. ADR rose 2 percent, while occupancy fell 0.7 percent year over year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Salamander D.C. Joins Preferred Hotels’ Legend Collection
Photo credit: Salamander Collection

Salamander D.C. joins Preferred’s Legend Collection

Summary:

  • The 373-key Salamander Washington, D.C. joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection after a full renovation.
  • The hotel is part of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, led by founder and CEO Sheila Johnson.
  • Preferred Hotels & Resorts is the largest independent hotel brand, with more than 600 properties in 80 countries.

SALAMANDER WASHINGTON, D.C., located on the city’s southwest waterfront, joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection. The 373-room hotel recently completed a property-wide renovation that includes updated communal spaces, redesigned guest suites, a two-level Salamander Spa and Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi.

Keep ReadingShow less
WTH Conference Returns to Los Angeles July 17

WTH conference returns to L.A. on July 17

Summary:

  • The 2025 Women in Travel & Hospitality Conference returns to Los Angeles on July 17.
  • The event gathers women in travel, tourism, hospitality, investment, wellness, and lifestyle.
  • It also will mark the launch of the new Travel Industry Executive Women’s Network website.

THE 2025 WOMEN in Travel & Hospitality Conference, hosted by the Travel Industry Executive Women’s Network and supported by the Boutique Lifestyle Lodging Association, will return to Los Angeles, California, on July 17. The event brings together women from around the world working in travel, tourism, hospitality, investment, wellness and lifestyle.

Keep ReadingShow less