WEEKENDS, ESPECIALLY FRIDAYS, are the top occupancy nights in Nashville, Tennessee, according to STR ‘s new Forward STAR. Nashville is the first active U.S. market for Forward STAR, which allows hotels to benchmark future occupancy on the books against the marketplace.
The Tennessee capitol also sees high levels of pickup, showing shorter booking windows are popular in the city, according to the report.
“Nashville currently shows zero nights in December with occupancy on the books of 70 percent or higher,” STR said in the report. “In December 2019, eight such nights actualized. The Groundwater Week Dec. 13 to 15 is pushing these three weekday nights to levels comparable to weekends as thousands of professionals from all sectors of the groundwater industry are expected to participate in the event.”
From Dec. 29 to 30 in Nashville is expected to see under 20 percent occupancy with significant pickup expected once the college football matchup is announced for the Music City Bowl. New Year’s Eve currently is forecast to reach 26.7 percent occupancy while the same night in 2019 came in at 67.8 percent.
“It is fitting that Nashville would be our first Forward STAR market in the U.S. given STR’s close proximity to and history with Music City,” said Amanda Hite, STR’s president. “That relationship aside, this is a win for local hoteliers, who are now able to combine their historical benchmarking reports with directly sourced forward-looking data that will add to strategic discussions around distribution, revenue management and marketing. We are currently servicing 86 Forward STAR areas around the globe with data collection ongoing in seven other North American markets—Austin, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, Oahu and Washington.”
The forward-looking data by STR, powered by Forward STAR, allows hoteliers worldwide to benchmark their occupancy on the books and the pickup against their local markets and competitors for the next one year. The Forward STAR helps hoteliers with information to react and adapt quickly to volatile market conditions, a statement said.
According to a recent report by STR, all the performance metrics of U.S. hotels improved in the first week of November.
Red Roof President Zack Gharib, far right, participates in a panel discussion at AAHOA’s 2025 Convention and Trade Show.
