Hoteliers Improve Average Daily Rate Performance Despite Weakening Reservation Pace

NEW YORK -- As hoteliers prepare for the holiday season and head into the new year, hotels in major North American markets are experiencing a strong, improved ADR (average daily rate) performance, according to new data from TravelClick's October 2015 North American Hospitality Review (NAHR).

Committed occupancy* for Q4 2015 – Q3 2016 is up 3.1 percent compared to a year ago. However, new commitments that have been added over the last month are down -3.5 percent. When broken down further, new group business bookings that have been added over the last month are down -1.3 percent over the comparable period last year, and new transient reservations that have been booked over the last month are down -4.6 percent. While booking pace may be down, ADR is up 3.8 percent based on reservations that are currently on the books for 2015.

"Over the past month, there has been a noticeable decline in new reservation pace. This could be a result of a combination of recent developments, including concern over a global economic slowdown, financial market turbulence and the seasonal slowdown of advance booking pace that often occurs during this time of year," said John Hach, TravelClick's senior industry analyst. "However, the weakening pace has not kept hoteliers from increasing ADR. As hoteliers prepare for 2016, it's important to proactively plan strategies for capturing share in higher profitability channels – like the GDS and their own websites. Doing so helps to safeguard RevPAR performance should the current advance reservation pace continue."

Twelve-Month Outlook (October 2015 – September 2016)

For the next 12 months (October 2015 – September 2016), transient bookings are up 0.1 percent year-over-year, and ADR for this segment is up 4.0 percent. When broken down further, the transient leisure (discount, qualified and wholesale) segment is showing occupancy gains of 2.3 percent and ADR gains of 3.5 percent. The transient business (negotiated and retail) segment is down -2.6 percent, but ADR is up 5.1 percent. Group segment occupancy is up 4.4 percent, and ADR has increased 3.3 percent when compared to the same time last year.

Hach added, "As hoteliers prepare for the upcoming holiday season, it's important to note that the industry occupancy outlook for group reservations remains strong throughout the upcoming months. Heading into 2016, there is also a significant uptick in reservations for individual leisure travelers. These results indicate that there is a solid base of advance bookings for group and transient business during the upcoming months."

The October NAHR looks at group sales commitments and individual reservations in the 25 major North American markets for hotel stays that are booked by October 1, 2015, from the period of October 2015 to September 2016.

*Committed Occupancy – (Transient rooms reserved + group rooms committed) / capacity

The fourth quarter combines data from October, November and December.