Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

STR: 2019 was record setting for hospitality

At the same time, the year saw the slowest growth since the recession

IT WAS ANOTHER record setting year for the U.S. hospitality industry in 2019, according to STR. However, it was also the slowest growth for RevPAR the industry has seen since the recession.

Compared to 2018, occupancy growth remained flat at 66.1 percent while ADR rose 1 percent to $131.21 and RevPAR went up 0.9 percent to $86.76. Absolute ADR and RevPAR for the year were the highest STR has bookmarked while the addition of more than 1.9 billion room nights available and roughly 1.3 billion room nights sold means both supply and demand rose 2 percent.


“The industry turned in another record year in terms of rooms available, rooms sold and rooms revenue,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president. “As was documented throughout 2019, however, RevPAR growth came in lower than any year since the recession and well below the long-term historical average of 3.2 percent. With supply and demand growing in equilibrium, ADR is the sole driver of RevPAR gains. Unfortunately, with ADR rising below the rate of inflation, revenue growth is not keeping up with rising costs, such as increases in wages. That is a concern for owners and operators alike.”

Hite said STR is not forecasting a significant change in fundamentals for the near future.

“Supply growth has remained manageable at the national level, but there is an uneven amount of new inventory in the limited-service sectors as well as certain major markets,” she said. “That is where we will see the greatest challenges as the industry embarks on another year of low performance growth levels.”

Phoenix, experienced the highest rise in occupancy, up 1.6 percent to 70.7 percent, and RevPAR, rising 4.5 percent to $94.23. Super Bowl LIII host Atlanta reported the year’s largest lift in ADR, a rise of 4.2 percent to $114.54.

Denver and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida, tied the record for the second-highest increase in occupancy with a rise of 1.3 percent to 73.9 percent and an increase of 1.3 percent to 72.3 percent respectively. Denver also registered the second-largest spike in RevPAR, going up 4.3 percent to $100.27.

Seattle saw the steepest decline in RevPAR, dropping 4 percent to $118.86 after supply growth in the city slipped to 5.9 percent. Houston posted the largest drop in ADR, losing 3.2 percent to $101.89.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, U.S. hotel occupancy fell 0.1 percent to 61.8 percent, ADR was up 0.7 percent to $128.94 and RevPAR increased 0.7 percent to $79.69. That quarter was capped in December by a 0.6 percent increase in occupancy to 54.4 percent, while ADR and RevPAR rose 2 percent to $126.84 and 2.6 percent to $69 respectively that month.

More for you

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
ExStay Washington DC

Third regional ExStay workshop set for D.C.

Summary:

  • ESLA and Kalibri will hold the third ExStay workshop on July 30 in Washington, D.C., following sessions in Atlanta and Dallas.
  • The event will feature experts from brands, operators, data firms and advisory groups.
  • Sessions will cover investment and include Q&As on developing, renovating, converting and operating extended stay assets.

THE EXTENDED STAY Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs will host the third quarterly ExStay workshop on July 30 in Washington, D.C., following earlier sessions in Atlanta and Dallas. The event will bring together extended stay lodging executives for networking.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deloitte value-seeking report 2025

Study: Consumers seek value over low prices

Summary:

  • Consumers are prioritizing value over low prices, pushing brands—including hotels—to adapt, Deloitte finds.
  • Economic uncertainty and inflation are driving caution and shifting views on pricing and spending.
  • Value-seeking by generations: 49 percent of Gen X, 43 percent of Boomers, 40 percent of Millennials and 44 percent of Gen Z.

AMID ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY and inflation, U.S. consumers are prioritizing value over low prices, favoring brands with added benefits, according to a Deloitte study. This shift is reshaping the market as companies, including hotels, adapt to changing expectations.

Keep ReadingShow less