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U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS set new records for demand, ADR, RevPAR and room revenues in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a report from hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. Also, the report showed rate resistance is apparent at lower price points due to recession and the economy extended-stay segment reported nine consecutive months of declining demand and three successive quarterly falls in occupancy. According to the Highland Group's "U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels: Fourth Quarter 2022" report, mid-price extended-stay hotels reported their second consecutive quarterly decline in occupancy in fourth quarter. Similar occupancy declines occurred for about two years starting in mid-2015 before ADR growth moderated and occupancy recovered. Extended-stay hotel supply growth was the lowest since 2013 during the quarter, below its long-term historical average for 20 consecutive quarters. The last time extended-stay supply growth was consistently near its current level was from 2010 fourth quarter through third quarter of 2014. "Extended-stay hotel RevPAR was more than 12 percent higher than in fourth quarter of 2019. There were 567,770 extended-stay hotel rooms open at the end of the quarter. Excluding 2020, the 6,481 net gain in rooms open over the last year was the lowest annual increase since 2012. Room nights available increased 1.2 percent over the last year which was the smallest annual gain in supply for nine years," the report said. "Fractional net economy and upscale segment supply gains compared to 2021 are largely due to re-branding moving rooms between segments in our database, de-flagging of hotels which no longer meet brand standards, as well as the sales of some hotels to multi-family apartment companies and municipalities."

BOUTIQUE HOTELS GENERATED more annual RevPAR than traditional hotels in the U.S. last year, according to a report from consulting agency The Highland Group. Hotels focused on experiential stay, exceptional design and amenities also attracted a rate premium, the report said. Boutique hotels are classified into independent boutique, lifestyle hotels and soft brand collections. The Boutique Hotel Report 2022 has said that upper midscale, upscale and luxury soft brand collections recovered strongly in 2021 in performance metrics against their US upscale counterparts, while the upper upscale class was ahead in rate recovery and lagged in occupancy. According to the report, lifestyle upper upscale and luxury hotels recovered at parity with their counterparts, while upper midscale and upscale lifestyle hotels reported slower recovery in both occupancy and average rate. "Upper midscale and upscale independent boutique hotels in urban locations recovered at a stronger pace than all U.S. hotel in urban locations in both performance metrics.

U.S. HOTELS WILL generate $46.71 billion in state and local tax revenue, more than ever before, according to a survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics. Occupancy is expected to continue its recovery, the report said, but challenges remain. Average U.S. hotel occupancy is projected to reach 63.8 percent in 2023, just under 2019's level of 65.9 percent, according to AHLA. However, the labor shortage is expected to continue this year as hotels seek to fill jobs lost in the pandemic. As of December, national average hotel wages were at historic highs of more than $23 an hour and hotel benefits and flexibility are better than ever. Nearly 100,000 hotel jobs are currently open across the nation, according to job search site Indeed. "Hotels are making significant strides toward recovery, supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in state and local tax revenue in communities across the nation," said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO. "To continue growing, we need to hire more people. Fortunately, there's never been a better time to be a hotel employee, with wages, benefits, flexibility and upward mobility better than ever before."

HOTEL STOCK PRICE volatility dragged the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index in November. Both the hotel brands and hotel REITs significantly underperformed their respective benchmarks during the month. The Baird/STR index fell 7.6 percent during the month from October. However, it was up 11.5 percent year to date through the first 11 months of 2021. The index rose 6.8 percent during October compared to September. The index was behind both the S&P 500, which fell 0.8 percent in November, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which dropped 0.9 percent. The hotel brand sub-index dropped 7.2 percent from October while the hotel REIT sub-index slipped 8.9 percent. "Hotel stock price volatility continued in November with both the Hotel brands and Hotel REITs significantly underperforming their respective benchmarks," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Two different investment narratives drove stock price performance during the month: In early November, third quarter earnings were better than expected, reopening optimism continued to gain momentum, and the hotel brands were hitting new all-time highs; but, by the end of the month, broader growth and inflation concerns surfaced, the Omicron variant spooked investors and impacted all travel-related stocks, and the hotel REITs were hitting new year-to-date lows."

EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS experienced limited growth in July, reflecting the summer travel season's tendency to favor the overall hotel industry more than extended-stay establishments, according to The Highland Group. Total hotels reported a smaller decrease in occupancy and a slightly higher increase in ADR compared to all extended-stay hotels in July 2022. According to Highland, Extended-stay hotels performed similarly to the preceding three months in July. The economy segment reported a decrease in RevPAR, while upscale extended-stay hotels saw the strongest RevPAR increase. However, ADR growth across extended-stay segments has noticeably narrowed over the last three months. For the second consecutive month, the economy segment achieved faster ADR gains compared to mid-price extended-stay hotels. "Extended-stay hotels' 9.2 percentage-point occupancy premium above the overall hotel industry is slightly below the long-term annual average range but typical for the summer travel season," said Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY hotels posted record high demand in January and monthly RevPAR was up by more than one third mainly due to record ADR growth during the period over 2021, according to hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. Occupancy extended-stay hotels also remained high in the month when compared to the overall hotel industry's long-term average. The supply growth of 3.5 percent in January further indicated that mid-price and upscale supply increases should be well below pre-pandemic levels during the near term, according to "U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Bulletin: January 2022" report by Highland Group. It is the fourth consecutive month of 4 percent or lower supply growth. The report said that the overall hotel industry lost far more revenue than extended-stay hotels in 2020 and 2021, so it is now recovering revenue more quickly. Besides, overall hotel industry lost far more RevPAR than extended-stay hotels in 2020, its RevPAR growth in January this year compared to last year was considerably greater.

ALL RECOVERY INDICES of U.S. extended-stay hotels were lower compared to 2019 in May than in April, according to hotel investment advisors The Highland Group. The demand for economy extended-stay hotels declined 1.3 percent for the second consecutive month in May compared to same period last year mainly due to sharp increase in ADR in last few months, the report said. The U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Bulletin: May 2022 by The Highland Group said that the extended-stay room supply growth was just 1.9 percent during the month. It is the second successive month that the growth was below 2 percent since 2013, and the eighth consecutive month of 4 percent or lower supply growth. The report added that the supply increase will be well below pre-pandemic levels during the near term. According to STR, all hotel room revenue was up 43 percent in May 2022 compared to last year. "In May, mid-price and upscale extended-stay segments reported their lowest monthly change in demand in 2022. Except for February 2021, due to the leap year in 2020, economy extended-stay hotels reported only the second monthly fall in demand in 23 consecutive months," the report said. "Overall hotel occupancy gained more than extended-stay hotels in May compared to one year ago, decreasing extended-stay hotel's occupancy premium to 12 percentage points, and remains within its long-term average range."

REVPAR FOR U.S extended-stay economy, mid-scale and upscale segments is recovering back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from consulting firm The Highland Group. Total extended-stay hotel occupancy is very close to the first quarter levels reported in 2016 and 2017 but below its peak years since 2015. "Overall, first quarter extended-stay hotel ADR was the highest ever reported in 2023 and all three segments have more than fully recovered their 2019 nominal ADR values," the report said. In its "2023 First Quarter U.S. Extended-Stay Hotels Report," Highland said the economy and mid-price extended-stay hotels made considerable gains in RevPAR relative to corresponding classes of all hotels between 2019 and 2023. Due to high concentration of rooms in urban markets, upscale extended-stay hotels have seen RevPAR decline slightly relative to all upscale class hotels. However, the gap is expected to narrow as urban markets make a full recovery, the report noted. "Rising interest rates and construction costs, as well as tightening loan underwriting, means extended-stay supply growth should be relatively low nationally for two to three years. Assuming the overall hotel industry does not endure a correction, extended-stay hotels should set more new performance records during the near term at least," says Mark Skinner, partner at The Highland Group.

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy declined across 59 MSAs in 2023 compared to 2019, primarily due to significant ADR growth over the past three years, according to The Highland Group. Additionally, extended-stay hotel RevPAR surged in more than 80 percent of MSAs, with ten of them, including four major hotel markets, experiencing gains exceeding 10 percent. Despite an 8 percent increase in the number of extended-stay hotel rooms under construction in the 100 largest MSAs over the past year, the figures remain below pre-pandemic levels, the report said. The resurgence in occupancy was notably led by smaller markets, where strong ADR increases and supply expansion played pivotal roles in driving the lowest occupancy recovery indices for MSAs in 2023.

U.S. HOTEL OCCUPANCY has reached an all-time high in the fourth week of December though the numbers came in lower than the previous week, according to STR. Christmas Day occupancy was 47.2 percent, up from the previous high of 47 percent recorded in 2015. Occupancy was 44.3 percent for the week ended Dec. 25, down from 53.8 percent the week before, and down 8.7 percent when compared to 2019. ADR was $129.67 for the week, up from $121.87 the week before and an increase of 0.5 percent from 2019. RevPAR reached $57.46, down from $65.61 the week before, and dropped 8.3 percent from two years ago. According to STR, a steeper decline during the week from 2019 levels was due to the fact that Christmas fell on a Wednesday two years ago and allowed for an earlier return to non-holiday weekend levels that year. "While Omicron-related closures and service disruptions affected performance in New York City, overall U.S. occupancy was less impacted," STR said.

THE STATE OF the U.S. hotel industry is strong going into 2024, according to American Hotel & Lodging Association's 2024 State of the Hotel Industry report. Average hotel occupancy is expected to reach nearly 63.6 percent in 2024, a slight increase from the 62.9 percent in 2023 but below the 65.8 percent rate recorded in 2019. Nominal RevPAR is also anticipated to rise to $101.82 in 2024, up by 4 percent from 2023 and over 17 percent from 2019. AHLA projects hotels will pay employees a record sum of over $123 billion in wages, salaries, and compensation in 2024, surpassing $118 billion in 2023 and $102 billion in 2019. Hotels are expected to add approximately 45,000 employees this year, while the industry's workforce remains nearly 225,000 below the almost 2.37 million employed in 2019, the AHLA report said. The report, projecting persistent challenges for hoteliers in the face of nationwide labor shortages as they approach 2019 occupancy levels, draws on data and analysis from Oxford Economics. It was developed in collaboration with AHLA Premier Partners: STR, Avendra, Ecolab, Encore, JLL, Oracle, and Towne Park.

IN ANOTHER SIGN of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's Super Bowl is expected to bring increases in hotel business to host city Los Angeles, according to STR. ADR and RevPAR are projected to reach the second-highest levels for any Super Bowl weekend on record. During the weekend of the game, Feb. 11 to 13, STR forecasts that ADR will reach $445 and RevPAR will be around $396 in the L.A. market. Occupancy is expected to hit 89 percent as fans flock in for the game. "Since July, the Los Angeles hotel market has consistently achieved monthly rates near or above pre-pandemic levels," said Blake Reiter, STR's director of custom forecasts. "Occupancy has been rapidly improving toward 2019 levels as well, but it hasn't reflected the same degree of recovery. We expect there will be, at least to a certain extent, a curtailing of occupancy because of COVID. Of course, if the NFL decides to switch venues as media reports have suggested, or implement more stringent protocols, L.A. hotel performance will certainly be among the ripple effects." Los Angeles's Super Bowl hotel occupancy is projected to outperform last year's venue, Tampa, Florida, which saw 82.4 percent occupancy when the home team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. However, it is well below the 92.8 percent Miami saw when it hosted the game in 2020, and also is lower than what L.A. saw over the comparable weekend period in 2020, 87.7 percent.

THE FIRST TWO months of 2022 saw up and down performance by Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index, according to STR. In January, the index sank, then in February it rose again, regaining lost ground. In January, the index dropped 3.8 percent after rising 12.7 percent in December. The index still outperformed both the S&P 500, which dropped 5.3 percent that month, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which dropped 7 percent. The hotel brand sub-index fell 4.3 percent from December and the hotel REIT sub-index declined 2.2 percent. "Despite the significant stock market volatility to start the year, both the hotel brands and hotel REITs outperformed their respective benchmarks in January, which continued the momentum from the end of 2021," Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird, said at that time. "Positively, Omicron-related concerns are slowly subsiding, and investors are looking forward again. At the same time, leisure demand remains robust, optimism regarding a more normalized travel environment is building, and the broader growth-to-value rotation has benefitted hotel stocks as inflation pressures remain front and center."

U.S. EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS set new performance records for demand, ADR and RevPAR in the third quarter of 2022, according to a report from The Highland Group. However, rate resistance is growing at lower price points as recession fears loom. The "U.S. Extended-stay Hotels: Third quarter 2022" report by the Highland Group said that the economy extended-stay segment reported six consecutive months of demand drop and two successive quarterly falls in occupancy in the quarter ending September. "Mid-price extended-stay hotels reported first quarterly decline in occupancy since fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding the last 15 months, extended-stay hotel ADR is still increasing at the fastest rate for 20 years but, like the overall hotel industry, ADR growth continues to decelerate," the report said. "The slowdown in ADR growth is greatest at higher price points although mid-price and upscale extended-stay ADR is still increasing faster than the economy segment."

REVPAR FOR U.S. hotels recovered to 83.2 percent of 2019 levels in 2021, according to STR. Also, in December 2021, ADR and RevPAR hit all-time highs. U.S. hotel occupancy in 2021 was 57.6 percent, down 12.6 percent when compared to 2019. ADR for the year was $124.67, down just 4.8 percent from 2019. RevPAR at $71.87, down 16.8 percent when compared to two years ago. "In addition to 2020, U.S. hotel occupancy failed to reach 60 percent for just the second time since 2011," STR said. "On a nominal basis, 2021 ADR was the fourth highest on record. The country's RevPAR level was its second lowest in eight years behind only 2020." According to the report, none of the top 25 markets experienced an occupancy increase last year over 2019. Tampa reported the highest occupancy at 68.4 percent, down 5.2 percent from 2019. The largest ADR increase in 2021 was in Miami, up 14.7 percent to $223.49, compared to 2019. Norfolk/Virginia Beach registered the highest growth in RevPAR, up 7.7 percent to $72.31.

A CONTINUING SENSE of optimism about the nation's recovery among investors sent the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index up in October. Hotel brands led the increase as concerns about the COVID-19 Delta variant began to ease. The Baird/STR index rose 6.8 percent during the month, and it also was up 20.7 percent year to date through the first 10 months of 2021. The index rose 5.2 percent during September compared to August. Still, the index was behind both the S&P 500, which rose 6.9 percent in October, and the MSCI US REIT Index, which rose 7.6 percent. The hotel brand sub-index rose 9 percent from September while the hotel REIT sub-index increased 0.5 percent. "Hotel stocks increased for the second straight month, but performance was led by the hotel brands once again," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "The hotel REITs were marginally higher in October, while the hotel brands were the absolute and relative winners. Delta variant concerns are in the rearview mirror now, and investors are looking forward to the recovery continuing in 2022, particularly in some of the harder hit segments, markets, and regions that are poised to rebound strongly."

THE BAIRD/STR Hotel Stock Index jumped 15.8 percent in October, according to STR. There were no signs of slowing as U.S. demand continued to strengthen during the month. The index decreased 8 percent year-to-date through the first ten months of 2022. The index fell 9.1 percent in September. In October, the index outgrew both the S&P 500, up 8 percent and the MSCI US REIT Index, increased 4.7 percent. The hotel brand sub-index increased 14.4 percent from September to 9,458, while the hotel REIT sub-index grew 20.6 percent to 1,193. "October was a strong rebound month for hotel stocks, and they recouped all their losses from the prior two months," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "Importantly, both the global hotel brands and the hotel REITs were relative outperformers versus their respective benchmarks in October. As investors shifted their focus from broader macroeconomic uncertainties to sector-specific performance ahead of and through third-quarter earnings reports, hotels continued to screen favorably given still-strong underlying fundamentals and an intact post-pandemic recovery thesis."

MORE THAN SEVEN in 10 Americans would be deterred from booking a hotel room in Los Angeles if hotels there are forced to house homeless people next to paying guests, according to a recent poll by American Hotel & Lodging Association. The survey was released as the city of Los Angel considers a proposed ordinance that would require hotels to house homeless individuals alongside paying guests, a change opposed by AHLA and AAHOA. Los Angeles residents will vote in March 2024 on the ballot initiative proposed by Unite Here, a labor union representing L.A.-area hotel workers. The AHLA study highlighted the significant impact such a policy would have on tourism and hotel occupancy in the city. However, if Unite Here's ballot initiative passes, Los Angeles would be the first city in American history to require hotels to house homeless people alongside paying guests.

THE BAIRD/STR Hotel Stock Index was down 2.5 percent in February 2023 as the focus turned to earnings and initial 2023 outlooks, according to STR. Investors' confidence also was boosted some by strong fourth quarter results and rising demand. During the month, the Baird/STR Index surpassed both the S&P 500, down 2.6 percent and the MSCI US REIT Index, fell 4.9 percent, STR said in a report. Meanwhile, the index jumped 16.4 percent in January. According to the STR, the Hotel Brand sub-index decreased 1.2 percent from January to 10,219, while the Hotel REIT sub-index dropped 7 percent to 1,130. "Hotel stocks, just like the broader market, pulled back in February as the focus turned to earnings and initial 2023 outlooks," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird. "The global hotel brand stocks, while down slightly during the month, outperformed the S&P 500 on the heels on strong fourth quarter earnings reports and guidance that matched expectations; hotel REITs were weaker and relatively underperformed as investors focused on somewhat mixed fourth quarter earnings reports and 2023 guidance that embedded heightened expense pressures and outsized renovation disruption."

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE increased from the previous week and showed improved comparisons year-over-year, according to STR. Meanwhile, U.S. occupancy reached the second highest level for any week this year. Occupancy came in at 67.5 percent for the week ending May 20, up from 65.1 percent the week before and down 1.5 percent over the comparable week in 2022. ADR was $158.53, up from $154.90 the previous week, and increased 3.6 percent from 2022. RevPAR stood at $106.98 in the recent week, jumped from $100.81 the week before and increased 2.1 percent against the same period in 2022. Among the top 25 markets, Washington, D.C., saw the highest year-over-year increases in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy rose 9.3 percent to 83.2 percent, while ADR increased 16.2 percent to $220.58. RevPAR also rose 27 percent to $183.60. Furthermore, the weekly occupancy level was the highest in the market since the start of the pandemic, STR said.