STR reports US hotel performance for August 2010

The U.S. hotel industry posted increases in all three key performance measurements during August 2010, according to data from STR.

In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy was up 6.4 percent to 63.9 percent. Average daily rate ended the month with a 1.5-percent increase to US$98.69. Revenue per available room for the month rose 8.1 percent to finish at US$63.08.

“This month we started to see rate growth beginning to improve and come back in upper-tier segments, however the industry still has a long way to go,” said Mark Lomanno, president at STR. “Pricing power is expected to begin to come back in the major markets and expand broader to the smaller markets.”

“We are looking forward to seeing how the group demand and pricing for the group demand comes back in the fourth quarter and the effect it will have on the year-end performance,” Lomanno said.

Among the Top 25 Markets, Detroit, Michigan, achieved the largest occupancy increase, rising 20.3 percent to 63.9 percent, followed by New Orleans, Louisiana (+18.2 percent to 55.7 percent), and Chicago, Illinois (+10.5 percent to 70.5 percent). None of the top markets experienced occupancy declines for the month.

New York, New York, rose 11.8 percent in ADR to US$207.14, reporting the largest increase in that metric. Nashville, Tennessee, posted the largest ADR decrease, falling 6.0 percent to US$80.29, followed by Phoenix, Arizona, with a 4.4-percent decrease to US$71.34.

Four markets experienced RevPAR increases of more than 15 percent: New Orleans (+23.0 percent to US$49.72); Detroit (+18.3 percent to US$48.43); Boston, Massachusetts (+17.2 percent to US$114.25); and Denver, Colorado (+15.8 percent to US$69.51). Phoenix ended the month with the only RevPAR decrease among the top markets, falling 4.0 percent to US$30.93.