HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—According to year-end 2020 data from STR, the U.S. hotel industry reported all-time lows in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR).
In addition to historically low absolute levels in the aforementioned metrics, average daily rate (ADR) came in lower than any year since 2011. Year-over-year declines were the worst on record across the three key performance metrics: Occupancy declined 33.3 percent year over year to a level of 44 percent; ADR dropped 21.3 percent year over year to $103.25; and RevPAR fell 47.5 percent to $45.48.
U.S. Hotel Performance
2020 vs. 2019
Occupancy: 44.0% (-33.3%)
ADR: $103.25 (-21.3%)
RevPAR: $45.48 (-47.5%)
For the first time in history, the industry surpassed 1 billion unsold room nights, which eclipsed the 786 million unsold room nights during the Great Recession in 2009. Based on November year-to-date results, the industry is expected to show nearly zero profit for the year when STR releases P&L data next week.
Among the Top 25 Markets, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota-Wisconsin, reported the lowest occupancy level (33.3 percent) in 2020, which represented a 49.9 percent decline in year-over-year comparisons.
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida, was the only Top 25 Market to reach 50 percent occupancy—50.8 percent for the year. The market’s occupancy level was still 29.4 percent lower than in 2019.
Oahu Island, Hawaii, was the only major market to post ADR above $200 at $215.57 (down 10.5 percent year over year), even as the market saw the steepest year-over-year occupancy decline (down 53.7 percent to 39 percent for 2020).
Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, came in closest to its 2019 comparable with occupancy of 49.1 percent (down 22.7 percent year over year) and RevPAR at $43.93 (down 34.7 percent year over year).
In aggregate, the Top 25 Markets showed lower occupancy (42.9 percent) but higher ADR ($114.09) than all other markets in 2020.
