The U.S. and Canada’s weekly performance results were pointed in opposite directions for the week of 1-7 July, according to data from STR, HotelNewsNow.com’s parent company.
U.S.: The U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy ended the week with a 3.7% decrease to 61.4%, average daily rate increased 3% to $101.67 and revenue per available room ended the week virtually flat with a 0.8% decrease to $62.37.
Canada: The country’s hotel occupancy ended the week with a 2.6% decrease to 67%, its ADR was up 2.1% to 133.29 Canadian dollars ($130.22) and its RevPAR ended the week virtually flat with a 0.6% decrease to CA$89.31 ($87.26).
The Summer Olympics must be getting close. Trivago reports hotel prices in London are up by 26% this month compared to July 2011.
The average rate in London is £210 ($324.24) compared to an equivalent £96 ($148.22) elsewhere in Europe. For the Olympic Games period 27 July to 12 August, hotel prices are up by an additional 16%.
The Trivago Hotel Price Index also found that overnight accommodation in London is 46% more expensive than it was during July 2011 and 75% more expensive than August 2011.
Louvre Hotels Group is looking to add more than 75 hotels to its portfolio by the end of the year, according to HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.
Louvre, which owns, operates and franchises its seven brands, aims to have 1,100 hotels comprising 85,000 rooms in its portfolio by year-end 2012, of which more than a third are outside its home country of France.
Matthieu Evrard, who has overseen that expansion as chief development officer, said the company is looking at emerging markets. “In France, we are very big,” he said. “(But) development in terms of percentage in France is very limited compared to the potential which is outside France.”
During the peak May-August travel season, 415 million tourists are expected to travel abroad, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Travel during the first four months of the year was strong, the UNWTO said. Overnight visitors globally numbered 285 million, up 5% from the same period a year ago.
“It is very encouraging to see demand returning to countries such as Japan, Egypt and Tunisia. These are long standing tourism destinations ready to fully welcome back the millions of tourists that each year chose to visit them,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the United States dropped by 26,000 to 350,000, according to the Department of Labor. The four-week moving average declined by 9,750 to 376,500.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
