Financial News for February 2009

U.S. economy hotels suffer less

HENDERSONVILLE, TN—Smith Travel Research’s weekly forecasts show that while all hotel sectors have experienced declines in occupancy, RevPAR and ADR, economy properties are suffering less than their more upscale counterparts.
 
STR figures from the week ending January 10, 2009, comparing performance with the previous year, provide a snapshot showing this trend.

Overall, occupancy fell 16.9 per cent from the comparable period a year ago to finish the week at 42.2 per cent (50.9 per cent in 2008). RevPAR dropped 22.9 per cent to end at US $41.50 (US $53.82 in 2008).

While not in the double-digit range, average daily rate experienced a decline as well, falling 7.2 per cent to US $98.25 (US $105.83 in 2008).

The performances of the chain-scale segments mirrored the industry averages—none posted increases in any of the three key performance metrics compared to the same period last year.

Among Top 25 Markets, all but two experienced decreases in each of the three key performance metrics. Miami-Hialeah, Florida and Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia, experienced near-flat gains in occupancy (+0.9 per cent and +0.3 per cent, respectively). New Orleans, Louisiana, posted the biggest occupancy decline, from 61.1 per cent in the comparable week in 2008 to 43.3 per cent in 2009 (-29.2 per cent).

For more information, visit www.strglobal.com.



(Percent change from same week last year.)