The US hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics during September, according to data from STR. Overall, the US hotel industry’s occupancy rose by 0.3% to 63.4%, its average daily rate was up 3.3% to US$111.03, and its revenue per available room increased 3.6% to US$70.36. Year-over-year demand grew 0.9% to 94 million room nights sold.
Jan Freitag, senior VP at STR, attributes the hotel industry’s September performance, in part, to a quirk in the calendar. “This dramatic slowdown of demand growth can be partially explained by the loss of one Saturday this year versus last year,” he says. “But there is no doubt that slowing group travel has taken its toll on the results during September, which is a historically strong meeting month.”
Group occupancy declined 1.1% for upper-end hotels, which Jan claims stands in contrast to a 1.2% increase in transient occupancy.
Among the Top 25 markets, Nashville, Tennessee, reported the largest occupancy increase, rising 9.7% to 71.4%. Denver, Colorado, followed with a 9.3% increase to 81%. New Orleans, Louisiana, reported the largest decrease in occupancy, as it fell 20.2% to 58.7%.
