STR’s global bubble chart update for 2022 shows resilient performance and plenty of momentum to face a challenging 2023 ahead. Almost half of the STR-defined markets around the world fully recovered revenue per available room (RevPAR) to 2019 levels. Among the 64 countries with room supply of more than 50,000 rooms, Jamaica, Israel, Cyprus, Switzerland, and Singapore were the top five performers on an absolute RevPAR basis in 2022. In most regions, performance was driven more by hotel prices while occupancy lagged pre-pandemic levels. Israel led all countries with an average daily rate (ADR) of more than US$300.
Top-line performance recovery was aplenty around the U.S. in 2022 as record-breaking levels of demand were combined with strong pricing power in an inflationary setting. Among the recovery highlights, New York City made a phenomenal comeback to grab the nation’s top spot in revenue per available room (RevPAR), while smaller hotel destinations with a primary focus on high-end travelers also found significant levels of success for the year.
Nearly two years have passed since STR published its first business travel recovery blog under the headline, “Waiting for Business Travel to Return.” Now 11 months into 2022, the wait for that return has been over for some time although further gains are needed to reach pre-pandemic levels. According to consumers, those gains are on the way with combination business/leisure trips representing the biggest increase.
STR’s global “bubble chart” update through 19 November 2022 showed the strongest performance of the year thus far. Egypt, Argentina, Israel, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates were the top five performing countries in revenue per available room (RevPAR) on an actual basis. Europe saw less representation at the top of the leader board, partly due to seasonality with the colder months arriving around the continent, but a continued strong position in relation to pre-pandemic comparables.
For the week of 6-12 November 2022, the post-Halloween demand return continued, as the metric increased 3.4% week on week (WoW). As a result, occupancy rose to 64.6% from 62.4% a week prior. Midweek occupancy, Tuesday through Thursday, fell slightly from 65% to 64.8% as softness outside the Top 25 markets dampened the measure. Top 25 midweek occupancy rose to 71.8%, up 0.5 percentage points (ppts) WoW. Weekend occupancy remained above 73% across the U.S., up 0.7ppts WoW.
A turbulent two years due to the pandemic proved to be the ultimate test of resilience and business continuity for hotels in Ireland. This year, however, has produced a strong recovery despite a difficult start and ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty. Hotels in Ireland have been successful in navigating the choppy waters as evidenced by the performance recorded thus far in 2022.
Global hotel hotel demand continues to strengthen, and the recovery index for the metric hit a pandemic-era high at the end of the third quarter of 2022. Among comparable, reporting hotels—those properties reporting data for the 2019 and 2022 year-to-date periods—September demand was just 6% shy of pre-pandemic levels. September was the fifth consecutive month with global demand recovery at a relatively stable point, at slightly more than 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
STR’s U.S. “bubble” chart update for mid-October 2022 highlights the best and worst performing hotel markets in terms of occupancy, the average percentage of rooms being filled. Data for the four weeks ending 15 October shows that New York City widened its performance lead over the other large markets and that leisure travelers flocked to autumn destinations as well as resorts far removed from the path of the hurricane. Among the Top 25 Markets, New York City had the highest occupancy at 84.7%. Boston (81.6%) was second, while Anaheim (80.7%), Nashville (79.3%) and San Diego (79.1%) rounded out the top five.
STR’s global bubble chart update shows steady top-line performance indicators around much of the world during the four weeks ending 24 September 2022. While most countries maintained their recovery pace since our previous update, China’s struggles continued while other Asian countries saw a pickup in recovery pace. Among the 48 countries with room supply of more than 50,000 hotel rooms, 12 posted occupancy above 75%, which was one more than the previous 28-day period. Average daily rate (ADR) softened after the summer peak as only four countries recorded a level of $250 or above, which was two countries less than previous four-week period.
For this edition of STR’s U.S. “bubble” chart update, we returned the focus to revenue per available room (RevPAR), a core indicator of the general financial health of hotel markets. For the four weeks ending 10 September, there was an expected seasonal softening from the mid-summer travel peak. In fact, only six of the 165 STR-defined U.S. markets saw month-over-month RevPAR increases for the period, which included the Labor Day holiday. That holiday typically produces major decreases in industry demand—especially weekday business travel—as well as marks an informal end to summer travel.
As anticipated, U.S. hotel demand for the week of 11-17 September 2022 soared back, increasing 13% week on week (WoW) and pushing occupancy to a six-week high of 69.6%. Weekday (Monday-Wednesday) occupancy was slightly better at 69.9%, with the measure reaching 75.5% in the Top 25 Markets—the second highest level of the pandemic-era behind the week ending 18 June 2022. Nominal average daily rate (ADR) made its way to a seven-week high (US$156), up 5.8% WoW and +18% year on year.
STR’s latest global bubble chart update shows strong top-line performance indicators for much of the world during the four weeks ending 20 August 2022. Among the developments since our previous update, countries around the Mediterranean region led in overall performance, while more markets overall eclipsed pre-pandemic levels of occupancy. Among the 48 countries with room supply of more than 50,000 hotel rooms, 11 reported occupancy above 75%, which was four more than the previous 28-day period.
Well past the second anniversary of the pandemic, business travel has yet to recover. There have been green shoots of hope seen in increasing weekday demand across the U.S. and U.K. as well as signs of recovery in traditionally business-focused urban hotels. However, consumer sentiment suggests a full return to pre-COVID levels of business travel may never occur. If there is full recovery in terms of volume, the composition of the segment will probably look different.
While the calendar shows that the summer of 2022 is pushing toward its conclusion, travel season remains in high gear around the U.S. Aligned with that season, the latest four-week “bubble” charts from STR show that leisure-oriented travel remains the predominant force behind the top performing U.S. hotel markets. For the four-week period ending with 16 July, Oahu led the Top 25 Markets in average occupancy (84.2%) with a conspicuous boost during the Fourth of July holiday—the same period when most markets saw expected and significant demand declines.
Robust top-line hotel performance indicators for the four weeks ending 11 June point to a clean transition between a rock-solid recovery during the spring to summer’s traditionally leisure-heavy travel period. With domestic leisure travel expected to remain strong, along with a recent lifting of international travel restrictions, STR expects a record-breaking summer season with numerous U.S. hotel markets to surpass 2019 comparables.
Well past the second anniversary of the pandemic, business travel is showing its first significant signs of recovery. As that recovery gains momentum, a new landscape has formed with the presence of both traditional and new forms of business travel. Amid this new landscape, however, there remains mixed consumer sentiment toward business travel as well as a large gap between current volume and pre-pandemic comparables. STR’s consumer research from May 2022 produced telling insights into this always popular topic.
The last few months have seen a much-welcomed boost in demand for the travel industry as COVID-19 restrictions have continued to ease in many parts of the world. STR’s Market Recovery Monitor shows that around two-thirds of global markets and over 95% of U.S. markets are now in a recovery or peak position achieving revenue per available room (RevPAR) indexed to 2019 at 80 or above. Further, around 70% of U.S. markets and 40% of global markets are now achieving higher RevPAR than in pre-pandemic times.
For the four-week period ending 14 May 2022, more than three-quarters of all U.S. hotel markets outperformed their comparable 2019 revenue per available room (RevPAR) on a nominal basis. Of 165 STR-defined U.S. markets, only 38 fell short of their 2019 RevPAR, which was a solid improvement from 52 underperformers in April’s “bubble” blog update. Industry RevPAR looks to be on steady footing; however, a look at RevPAR contribution shows a greater influence from average daily rate (ADR) as opposed to occupancy in many areas.
All scales reported ADR growth over March 2019, ranging from +2.8% (upscale) to +26.8% (luxury) despite occupancy declines across the board. Upscale (+1.6%), upper midscale (+4.1%) and midscale (+1.0) properties posted demand growth, but each are competing with an influx of supply (+10.5%, +8.4% and +3.6%, respectively) which offsets any potential occupancy gains. Upper upscale showed the worst RevPAR decline (-8.4%), driven down by a 12.1% demand decline coupled with 4.6% growth in supply.
More than two-thirds of STR-defined U.S. hotel markets (113 of 165) outperformed their 2019 comparables over the four weeks ending 9 April 2022, which is reflective of the industry’s rebound toward normalcy as well as some influence from inflation. Only seven markets in total over the 28-day period reported revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) indices below 80 (20% below 2019 levels). Late March into early April 2022 also marked a key turnaround in the number of major markets making appreciable performance gains toward historical performance levels.
