U.S. weekly hotel occupancy reached its highest level in a year, according to STR‘s latest data through 13 March.
For the week of 7-13 March, hotel occupancy reached 52.1 percent, up from 49 percent the week before and, for the first time, down just 1.4 percent from the comparable week in 2020. Average daily rate reached $102.62, down 14.5 percent year over year, while revenue per available room reached $53.45, down 15.8 percent.
Year-over-year percentage changes are now more favourable as comparisons have shifted to pandemic-affected weeks from 2020. When indexed against 2019 levels, the U.S. has recaptured between 70-75 percent of occupancy in recent weeks.
For the week ending 13 March, the U.S. achieved its highest absolute weekly RevPAR ($53.45) since the week ending March 14, 2020. A year-over-year decline of 15.8 percent was the smallest since the start of the pandemic. However, a lessening of the year-over-year decrease is mostly a function of an easier comparison. When indexed against 2019, RevPAR was 57 percent of the level achieved during the comparable week in 2019. Similar to the most recent weeks, that RevPAR index remains well in the recession classification.
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