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U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE decreased in the third week of December compared to the week before, according to STR. However, performance metrics improved when compared to 2019 in part because of a favorable calendar shift. According to STR, the corresponding week in 2019 ended on 21 December, which brought performance down lower for that period. Occupancy was 54.5 percent for the week ending Dec. 17, down from 59.6 percent the week before and an increase of 9.2 percent from 2019. ADR was $135.08 during the week, dropped from $144.79 the week before and up 23.7 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $73.65 during the week, down from $86.29 the week before and up 35.1 percent from 2019.

U.S. HOTEL PERFORMANCE improved in the final week of 2022 compared to the week before due to favorable side of a holiday calendar shift, according to STR. When compared to the same period in 2019 performance also increased in the last week of December. According to STR, the comparable week in 2019 covered Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. Occupancy was 54.2 percent for the week ending Dec. 31, up from 43.9 percent the week before and increased 10.4 percent from 2019. ADR was $167.21 during the week, a steep increase from $132.29 the week before and up 21.7 percent from three years ago. RevPAR reached $90.63 in the final week of December, rose from $58.04 the week before and up 34.3 percent from 2019.

IN JUNE, GOPPAR for U.S. hotels reached its highest level since October 2019, according to STR. All profitability metrics were up in the month compared to the month before. GOPPAR was $91.23 for the month, up from $88.63 reported in May. In April GOPPAR stood at $90.96. EBITDA PAR was $69.53 for June, TRevPAR was $226.10 and labor costs per room were $68.40. "Each of the key bottom-line metrics increased from May due to a rise in room rates as well as improved revenue from F&B and groups," said Joseph Rael, STR's senior director of financial performance. "Profit margins have held strong the past 12 months but have been slightly reduced recently due to rising wages and costs. Hotels have brought back services, amenities and F&B operations that were previously reduced, which have increased profits overall but at lower margins. While F&B revenues remain strong, catering and banquet revenue has lagged with improvement in recent months due to rising group demand."

MONITORING GOPPAR PERFORMANCE allows hoteliers to make smart decisions about running their business as they consider all revenue streams and cost variables, according to HotStats. The focus should be on maximizing profit rather than just increasing revenue. GOPPAR is calculated by taking total revenue, subtracting total departmental and undistributed expenses, then dividing by the total number of available rooms, according to a blog post by HotStats. GOPPAR index measurement gives guidance about why a hotel is either outperforming or underperforming its direct competitors, allowing a hotel owner to make critical changes to improve business, it said. In February, GOPPAR for U.S. hotels was down 33 percent compared to February 2019, whereas RevPAR was down 26 percent for the month. It provided evidence that costs were eating farther into the P&L in February.

GOPPAR OF U.S. hotels hit $65.98 in February, its highest point since October last year and more than $40 more than in January, but down from $90 in February 2019, according to HotStats. However, a rise in expenses could derail a profit rebound, the data analyzing firm said. The payroll expense of U.S. hotels was up to $66.60 per available room in February, highest since the inception of the pandemic, according to HotStats. Though payroll is up 192 percent from its lowest point during the pandemic, it is still down $30 when compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Factors such as inflation, supply chain problems and war in Ukraine are driving costs up. Expense on utilities on a PAR basis are already back to pre-pandemic levels, HotStats said.

STR IS LAUNCHING a new phase, STR Benchmarking, a market share product for the global hotel industry, according to STR's parent company, real estate marketplaces, information and analytics provider CoStar Group. The new software platform will offer property-level data and analytics for hotel owners and operators with functionality built on the STAR Report. Acquired by CoStar in 2019, STR draws its benchmarking data from a sample of 77,000 participating properties with 10 million rooms around the world. STR Benchmarking provides new functions, including user and competitive set self-management as well as high-frequency updates to data. Future product enhancements, which are expected to begin rolling out later this year, include portfolio-level benchmarking, monthly P&L, average-length-of-stay data, and forward-looking occupancy.

TOTAL REVENUES FROM extended-stay hotel rooms fell by 0.2 percent in March, marking the first monthly decline in over three years, according to The Highland Group. However, the revenue decline was smaller than the 1.6 percent contraction estimated by STR/CoStar for the overall hotel industry. Meanwhile, extended-stay room supply increased by 2.7 percent in March, a slight uptick compared to the average monthly growth over the past two years, the report said. This marks the 30th consecutive month of supply growth at 4 percent or less, with the annual change remaining below 2 percent for two years. However, both these figures lag behind the long-term average. The 14.2 percent rise in economy extended-stay supply, coupled with a small increase in mid-price segment rooms, primarily stems from conversions, The Highland Group said. New construction in the economy segment is estimated to account for approximately 3 percent of open rooms compared to one year ago.

EXTENDED-STAY ROOM SUPPLY increased by 1.8 percent in February due to it being a leap year, consistent with the average monthly increase observed over the last two years, according to The Highland Group. February marked 29 consecutive months of 4 percent or less supply growth. Additionally, the change in supply has remained below 2 percent for more than two years, with both metrics significantly falling below the long-term average. The 18.8 percent surge in economy extended-stay supply, along with a modest increase in mid-price segment rooms, is largely attributed to conversions, The Highland Group said. Meanwhile, new construction in the economy segment is estimated at around 3 percent of open rooms compared to a year ago. 2024 first half supply trends Supply change comparisons have been affected by rebranding, segment realignment in The Highland Group's database, and the de-flagging of hotels failing to meet brand standards, along with sales to multi-family apartment companies and municipalities, the report said. This trend is expected to persist into the first half of 2024, particularly with older extended-stay hotels still available on the market.

U.S. HOTEL CONSTRUCTION increased slightly in December after 25 consecutive months of decline, according to STR. Projects in the later stages of development saw a reversal in their decline and luxury projects were up. There are 159,344 rooms in construction during the month, up 0.3 percent, over Dec. 2021. As many as 213,066 rooms are in the final planning state, an increase of 15 percent over last year. STR pipeline data added that 240,092 rooms are under planning, a decline of 15.6 percent. New York City, Phoenix and Dallas are set to see the largest supply percentage increases from current construction. The luxury and upscale segments would see the most supply. "While the overall pipeline continued to contract year over year, December showed strength in the later phases of development," said Alison Hoyt, STR's senior director of consulting. "Over the past year, we've seen late-stage pipeline rooms consistently decline from 2021 levels, while rooms in the planning phase often showed double-digit growth. We started to see a change in this pattern in November, when final planning rooms significantly jumped year over year and planning rooms came down pretty firmly. The same occurred in December, with the only difference being construction increasing slightly over 2021. When looking strictly at volume, the in-construction phase has been fairly stable throughout the year, remaining under 160,000 rooms and showing month-over-month increases from July through October and again in December."

CBRE HOTELS RESEARCH has once again revised its forecast for the second half of 2022. The revision is mainly due to strong gains in the second quarter and expectations of positive growth next year. RevPAR for the second half of the year will rise to 14.7 percent year-over-year, up from the previous projection of 13.1 percent in May, according to CBRE. The reasons for the spike are a 3.5 percentage point increase in ADR and a 2.2 percentage point reduction in CBRE's demand forecast. Second quarter RevPAR reached $98.84, up 38 percent year over-year, and an all-time quarterly high at 106 percent of 2019's level. RevPAR growth was driven mainly by ADR, up 25.5 percent, followed by occupancy, up 9.9 percent.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND is back and almost as strong as pre-pandemic levels, with 39.2 million people forecast to travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday period, according to AAA Travel. Despite record high gas prices, a majority of travelers, 34.9 million, are expected to drive, but air travel also is seeing resurgence. The total forecasted number of travelers is 8.3 percent higher than 2021's 36.2 million and comes closer to 2017 levels. Last year, U.S. hotels saw occupancy hit nearly 62 percent over that Memorial Day weekend, according to STR. "Memorial Day is always a good predictor of what's to come for summer travel," said Paula Twidale, senior vice president, AAA Travel. "Based on our projections, summer travel isn't just heating up, it will be on fire. People are overdue for a vacation and they are looking to catch up on some much-needed R&R in the coming months."

PROFITS FOR U.S. hotels reached a 28-month high in March, according to STR. Spring break travel and higher rates are pushing performance up on all levels. GOPPAR was $83.81 for the month, the highest level for the metric since November 2019. It was less than $10 shy of reaching the pre-pandemic comparable from March 2019. In February GOPPAR stood at $58.88. EBITDA PAR was $62.68, TRevPAR was $204.84 and labor costs per room were $61.45. For the latter two it was their highest mark since March 2020.