STR on Friday released monthly December data for the U.S. The industry reported increases in all three key performance metrics.
Overall, the U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy rose 4.1% to 47.6%, its average daily rate was up 3.4% to US$99.67 and its revenue per available room increased 7.6% to US$47.48.
Among the top 25 Markets, New Orleans led in all metrics. Occupancy in New Orleans was 11.6% to 56%; ADR was up 16.1% to US$118.81; and revenue per available room was up 29.6% to US$66.49.
Weekly data on the three key performance metrics for the U.S. and Canada was also released by STR today.
U.S.: During the week of 8-14 January, according to data from STR, occupancy in the U.S. was up 4.9% to 52.1%, ADR increased 5.6% to US$102.99 and RevPAR was up 10.8% to US$53.65.
Among the top 25 Markets, New Orleans experienced the largest increases in all three key performance metrics. The market’s occupancy increased 31% to 70.2%, its ADR was up 60.3% to US$171.59 and its RevPAR jumped 110% to US$120.38.
Canada: The Canadian hotel industry reported mixed results in the three key performance metrics for the week, according to data from STR.
The Canadian hotel industry’s occupancy ended the week with a 1.3% decrease to 48.5%, its ADR rose 1.5% to CAD$119.36 and its RevPAR ended the week virtually flat with a 0.2% increase to CAD$57.90.
Among the provinces: Newfoundland led in occupancy increases (8.6% to 56.5%); Prince Edward Island led in ADR increases (7.1% to CAD$83.04); and Newfoundland led in RevPAR increases (15.7% to CAD$70.67).
The next step in promoting the United States as a tourist attraction to international travelers is underway, and visa reform received a big push forward Thursday when President Barack Obama spoke about its potential positive implications and announced the creation of a task force to accelerate visa reform plans, writes HotelNewsNow.com’s Jason Q. Freed.
Hoteliers across the U.S. celebrated Obama’s remarks, saying efforts to ease the burden of traveling to the U.S. from important business partner countries like Brazil, India and China would directly affect the hotel industry.
“This presents a new world of opportunities for hotels and destinations. U.S. cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are all key destinations for Chinese travelers,” said Dave Horton, global head of Hilton Hotels & Resorts. “As it becomes easier for visitors to travel abroad, we expect that other cities will emerge as leading destinations as well.”
“I see the greatest pressure building from the international group side. There are many European groups that meet only in Europe because a large part of their contingent doesn’t want to go through the trouble of traveling to the U.S.,” said Burt Cabañas, chairman and CEO of Benchmark Hospitality International. “Layer on top of that the requirements for a visa, and they’d rather stay in the European Commonwealth.”
Marriott International announced the next five locations for upcoming EDITION hotels: New York, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, Miami Beach and London.
The New York EDITION will be located at the landmark Clock Tower Building, which was acquired for US$165 million from prior owner Africa Israel USA. Renovation and conversion of the iconic Clock Tower Building will begin in late 2012.
The Bangkok EDITION will be part of a mixed-use development planned for one of the tallest buildings in Bangkok; and the Abu Dhabi EDITION will be part of the Al Bateen Harbor complex within the Abu Dhabi Marina. The London EDITION will open next year and the Miami Beach EDITION, under construction, is expected to open in late 2013.
The developers of Trump Soho in New York will put the hotel and its unsold condominium units up for sale, Alex Sapir, one of the property’s builders, told Bloomberg.
The Sapir Organization, which developed the property with Bayrock Group LLC, has hired brokers Eastdil Secured LLC and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. to hold an auction for the unsold condominium units and the hotel’s common areas.
The 46-story Trump Soho, managed by the Trump Organization, offers condos for sale that may only be used by their owners for 120 days of a calendar year. For the rest of the time, they’re offered as hotel rooms, with owners sharing in the rental revenue.
The decision to hold the auction comes after the group received unsolicited offers for the hotel, Sapir said.
Lodging demand trends continue on a solid recovery trajectory despite heightened global macroeconomic risk stemming from European sovereign debt concerns and a slowdown in China, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.
Fitch's report says positive operating fundamentals support a stable outlook across four subsectors, including lodging C-Corps, lodging real-estate investment trusts, CMBS with high hotel exposures, and timeshare asset-backed securities.
“Hotel property-level operating performance should continue its solid improvement in 2012-2013 as a result of a favorable supply/demand outlook,” the report reads.
Compiled by Jason Q. Freed.
