U.S. and Canadian hotels were moving in opposite directions during the week of 3-9 June, according to performance data from STR, parent company of HotelNewsNow.com. Hotels in the United States showed increases in all three key performance metrics, while Canadian hotels reported decreases in all three metrics.
U.S.: In year-over-year comparisons for the week, occupancy ended the week with a 1.3% increase to 68.5%, average daily rate increased 5.1% to $107.48 and revenue per available room jumped rose 6.5% to $73.59.
Canada: In year-over-year measurements, the country’s occupancy fell 2.9% to 70.3%, its ADR was down 2.3% to $139.70 Canadian dollars ($136.09) and its RevPAR reported a 5.1% decrease to CA$98.20 ($95.66).
There are more U.S. travelers hitting the road during 2012 than in past years, although the rate of that growth is beginning to lose momentum, according to a report from HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.
“Overall the message is: it’s positive, it’s growing, there’s definitely forward momentum,” Carroll Rheem, senior director of reach at PhoCusWright, said during a company webinar Wednesday. “It’s just slowing down a little bit.”
Those who intend to travel in during the year ahead, for example, is down slightly from 32% in 2010 to 30% in 2011; the percentage of travelers who said they will take fewer trips in the year ahead is up slightly. Likewise, slightly fewer travelers said they will spend more during 2012, while slightly more travelers said they intend to spend less.
Hoteliers in London benefitted from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration earlier this month, according to data compiled by STR Global, sister company of HotelNewsNow.com.
Hotels in London saw occupancy reach 90.5% on 2 June and benefited from the extended weekend to boost the traditionally low Sunday night (3 June) with occupancy reaching 79.3% (+20.8%).
“The Jubilee weekend has been a fantastic opportunity for London to once again showcase its heritage and pageantry and to be under the spotlight as a destination capable of handling large scale events,” Elizabeth Randall, managing director at STR Global, said in a news release. “Across all hotel segments, performance increased during Saturday and Sunday, as the festivities came to their climax. However due to the public holidays during Monday and Tuesday (4-5 June), the missing business and meeting travelers impacted the weekday performances.”
The U.S. Army is in the process of privatizing most of its 17,000 hotel rooms, according to a New York Times report.
The Army is allowing private companies to come in and build, renovate and operate the properties as a way to modernize the hotels and save money. Approximately 4,400 rooms have been remade through a program called Privatization of Army Lodging, and the remainder is expected to be done during the next 10 years.
“This allows the Army to focus on the mission,” said Rhonda Hayes, an official in the office of Katherine Hammack, the assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. “The Army is divesting itself of noncore functions. Housing was the first, and hotels were a natural follow-on. This is something the private sector does well, and it makes sense for them to do it.”
Just one in five travelers take the time to rebook a hotel room if they come across a lower rate, according to a survey of more than 1,000 people by Tingo, a TripAdvisor affiliate.
Further, more than 50% of travelers said that during the past 12 months, they did not check to see if their hotel reservations had declined in price.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
