HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — Showing further effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel industry reported significant year-over-year declines across three key performance metrics during the week of March 15-21, 2020, according to data from STR. In comparison with the week of March 17-23, 2019, occupancy declined 56.4 percent to 30.3 percent, average daily rate (ADR) dropped 30.2 percent to $93.41, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell 69.5 percent to $28.32.
“RevPAR decreases are at unprecedented levels—worse than those seen during 9/11 and the financial crisis,” said Jan Freitag, STR’s senior vice president of lodging insights. “Seven of 10 rooms were empty around the country. That average is staggering on its own, but it’s tougher to process when you consider that occupancy will likely fall further. With most events canceled around the nation, group occupancy was down to one percent with a year-over-year RevPAR decline of 96.6 percent. The industry is no doubt facing a situation that will take a concerted effort by brands, owners, and the government to overcome.”
Performance in the Top 25 Markets — March 15-21, 2020
Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed steeper declines: occupancy fell 66.3 percent to 26.2 percent, ADR dropped 35.2 percent to $105.40, and RevPAR decreased 78.2 percent to $27.59.
San Francisco/San Mateo, California, recorded the worst declines in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (down 80.7 percent to 16.6 percent), ADR (down 44.7 percent to $151.25), and RevPAR (down 89.3 percent to $25.08).
New York’s drop in RevPAR (down 86.5 percent to $26.98) was due primarily to the second-steepest decrease in occupancy (down 80.5 percent to 16.8 percent).
New Orleans, Louisiana, matched for the second-largest decline in RevPAR (down 86.5 percent to $20.02), mostly because of the third-largest decrease in occupancy (down 76 percent to 20.2 percent).
