STR: U.S. hotel performance for July 2019

The U.S. hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics during July 2019, according to data from STR.

In a year-over-year comparison with July 2018, the industry posted the following:

• Occupancy: +0.4% to 73.8%
• Average daily rate (ADR): +0.7% to US$135.04
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +1.1% to US$99.62

"This was the first month in history with absolute RevPAR basically at $100," said Jan Freitag, STR's senior VP of lodging insights. "Opposite of June, when an extra Sunday on the calendar pushed year-over-year comparisons into negative territory, July percentage changes were lifted by a fifth Wednesday during the month.

"With those calendar shifts aside, however, the story is pretty much the same. The industry set another monthly demand record, but a steady stream of new supply muted occupancy growth and influenced already weak pricing confidence. ADR growth, which continues below the rate of inflation, has reached 1% or higher just twice this year. Our revised forecast released last week projects further slowing in performance through 2020."

The industry's current expansion cycle has reached a record 113 months (March 2010-present) with year-over-year RevPAR increases in 111. The only decreases during this run came in September 2018 (-0.3%) and June 2019 (-0.4%). The previous long growth cycle in U.S. history lasted 112 months (December 1991-March 2001) with one decrease (-0.4%) in August 1998. That 112-month stretch was followed by 17 months of year-over-year RevPAR decreases.

Among the Top 25 Markets, Denver, Colorado, registered the largest July jump in RevPAR (+8.1% to US$135.04), thanks in part to the largest lift in ADR (+4.4% to US$152.74).

Houston, Texas, experienced the highest rise in occupancy (+4.9% to 64.9%).

Nashville, Tennessee, saw the second-largest increases in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (+4.6% to 77.1%), ADR (+3.3% to US$141.90) and RevPAR (+8.0% to US$109.44).

San Francisco/San Mateo, California, registered the only double-digit decrease in RevPAR (-13.7% to US$194.90), which was primarily the result of the steepest decline in ADR (-9.7% to US$231.34).

Negatively affected by Tropical Storm Barry, New Orleans, Louisiana, experienced the only double-digit drop in occupancy (-12.0% to 60.3%) and the second-largest decline in RevPAR (-9.9% to US$84.21).