STR: Mixed results for U.S. hotels in February

HENDERSONVILLE, TN—The U.S. hotel industry posted mixed results in the three key performance measurements during February 2010, according to data from STR.

In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy ended the month virtually flat with a 0.9-per cent increase to 53.0 per cent. Average daily rate dropped 4.5 per cent to finish the month at US$96.40. Revenue per available room for the month decreased 3.6 per cent to finish at US$51.09.

“February results were encouraging across the board,” said Mark Lomanno, president of STR. “Hotel demand has shown a nice bounce, and room rates, while still down compared to last year, have almost stabilized. However, there is much work to be done before we can say the industry has actually begun to rebound.”

Among the Chain Scale segments, three of the seven segments reported increases in occupancy. The Luxury segment increased 9.1 per cent to 63.7 per cent, followed by the Upper Upscale segment (+5.2 per cent to 64.4 per cent) and the Upscale segment (+4.3 per cent to 62.1 per cent). The Luxury segment was the only segment to report a RevPAR increase, rising 3.3 per cent to US$158.90.