The market is experiencing a period of economic strength and expansion, primarily led by the tourism and leisure industry and the presence of Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center, which continue to attract visitors and bolster lodging demand.
The Detroit metropolitan area has experienced significant economic growth in recent years, fueled by a strengthening auto industry as well as the continued diversification of the local employment landscape. The hotel sector is benefitting from existing employers expanding operations locally and new entrants to the market. The Big Three automakers continue to invest in the region, while companies like e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. are building large warehouse facilities. Revenue gains for hotels were accordingly robust during the 2010–2016 period. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) during that stretch grew nearly 71 percent, rising from a low of roughly $38 in 2009 at the depths of the Great Recession to over $64 by year-end 2016. Both the average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy have posted consistent gains since 2010. Moreover, hoteliers sold a record number of room nights in the city of Detroit in 2016, according to STR. Occupancy levels approached 70 percent by the end of 2016, with ADRs of nearly $150 in the central business district (CBD). The data for 2017 show a relatively stable occupancy level with robust gains in ADR. The record performance achieved in this expansionary period has spurred tremendous hotel development in the downtown core and suburbs.
Lubbock (aka "Hub City"), Texas, connects business, educational, and healthcare enterprises spread across the region known as the South Plains. This region encompasses the largest contiguous cotton-growing operations in the U.S., and agriculture, manufacturing, and technology are pillars of the local and regional economies. Economic growth in Lubbock has boomed over the past several years, and through a varied cross-section of industries, the city's Downtown is poised for a major revitalization.
Tampa's warm weather and relatively inexpensive cost of living are just a couple of the reasons people and companies are relocating to the Tampa Bay area from far and wide. Continued investment by both the public and private sectors is anticipated to set the stage for continued growth. These factors, among others, are driving hotel demand and room-night production, which is leading to an increase in new hotel developments.
A weak energy sector has led to negative lodging fundamentals throughout much of the greater Houston region; however, one destination continues to illustrate its resilience. Galveston Island has realized year-over-year growth in total visitation in each of the past seven years following Hurricane Ike. While the rate of growth has slowed in recent years, no doubt somewhat affected by volatility in the energy sector, positive factors such as the recently completed expansion of the cruise terminal and the low gasoline prices have contributed to the growth in visitation numbers. This article will explore tourism trends on Galveston Island. Galveston Island is a 64-square-mile barrier island located 50 miles southeast of Houston. With 32 miles of beaches, a variety of historic neighborhoods, ample leisure attractions, and a multitude of festivals, the tourism industry remains a mainstay of the local economy. The relative affordability of the island, and the proximity to and size of the Houston metropolitan area contribute to the strength of this industry.
The LAX/El Segundo area has experienced robust growth in hotel demand in recent years, buoyed by increased passenger volume at LAX, the addition of new upper-upscale hotels, and sustained corporate demand from El Segundo and the surrounding markets. LAX is the second-busiest airport in the nation, behind Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, and the gateway to Southern California. The airport reached a new peak in passenger volume in 2016, which grew 7.0% over the prior year, and this trend continued through the September 2017 year-to-date period. The addition of Delta's direct flights from China on Boeing's Dreamliner and recent renovations at LAX have contributed to this growth.
As North American hoteliers enter the holiday season and round out the year, all travel segments are seeing a noticeable increase across the board in both average daily rates (ADR) and occupancy, up 1.4 percent and 3.9 percent respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to new data from TravelClick's November 2017 North American Hospitality Review (NAHR).
Indiana's capital city, Indianapolis, is the state's largest and the third-largest city in the Midwest. The city is a primary industrial, commercial, and transportation center for the Midwest, as the most centrally located of the largest 100 cities in the United States. The city is well served by four interstates, six railroads, an international airport, and a foreign trade zone. Historically known for its concentration of major manufacturing operations and logistics, the city has evolved as a hub for advanced manufacturing, digital technology, and life science/healthcare, as well as amateur and professional sporting events, which have brought Indianapolis broader recognition. The area is most well known for hosting the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500 each spring.
Before leaf-changing season kicks into full swing, check out our fall travel trends that reveal interesting insights into traveler search behavior. Our data* tells us where travelers to the US are coming from and what cities they're going to and compares their search behavior with those traveling domestically.
When Ebola struck the Sub-Saharan continent in the summer of 2014, thousands of travelers canceled their safari plans in South Africa, resulting in an immediate decline of multimillions of dollars given the tourist cancelations. Truth be told, South African cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town were more than 2,000 miles from the epicenter of the outbreak, unlike the wildly successful summer destinations of the South of France and England, which were actually far closer to the sources of the viral outbreak. Unfortunately, the geographically challenged visitors, who could have seamlessly enjoyed their intended holidays, altered their plans, and the destinations that relied heavily on the bookings and inbound travel suffered economically, and greatly.
In this sixth annual Lodging Tax Study, HVS Convention, Sports, and Entertainment Consulting surveys lodging tax rates and revenues across the United States. Our study includes a broad range of cities and tracks policy trends in lodging tax impositions. This research identifies the lodging tax rates levied at the state, county, city, and special district levels. We provide data on the collection and distribution of revenue from lodging taxes levied in all 50 States and the 150 largest cities in the United States.
Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the biggest cities in the southeast, second only to Jacksonville, Florida, by population, and among the top three fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S. Home to two professional sports franchises (the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and the NFL's Carolina Panthers), NASCAR's Sprint Cup and All-Star stock car races, and numerous museums, Charlotte enjoys a strong base of leisure demand. Commercial and meeting/group demand are strong in the city, as well.
Hotel demand has just reached an all-time high in the U.S., according to CBRE Hotels' Americas Research. Occupancy levels and demand for rooms are also buoyant in Europe and Asia Pacific.
Hurricane Harvey put a big asterisk beside a U.S. lodging market forecast at the Southern Lodging Summit in Memphis on Wednesday. Hotel industry expert Jan Freitag, senior vice president, strategic development for STR, formerly Smith Travel Research, fears Harvey could wipe out a year’s worth of gains in hotel room growth.
Boise is closing in on the ranks of the top ten cities in which to live in the U.S., according to the 2017 survey by U.S. News & World Report. The reasons for the elevated ranking—number 12, as of this year—include affordability, job prospects, and overall quality of life. This reflects Boise's ascendance in other spheres, including population, visitation numbers, and the number of proposed hotels, especially in the city's downtown corridor.
As North American hoteliers push forward into the third quarter of 2017, both average daily rates (ADR) and bookings remain inconsistent across all travel segments, according to new data from TravelClick's July 2017 North American Hospitality Review (NAHR). This marks an ongoing trend for the year.
Although the eight-year bull market in the US lodging industry is showing signs of deceleration, the sector posted record performance metrics on a national level during 2016 including: 65.5 percent occupancy, $124 average daily rate, $81 revenue per available room, 1.8 billion available room nights, 1.2 billion occupied room nights, and $149 billion in rooms revenue. Q1 2017 compared with Q1 2016 indicates a continued increase in every major category of measurement. Although US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth remains muted, anticipated legislation relating to tax reform and infrastructure spending should accelerate GDP and positively impact demand for transient lodging. Additionally, the current US Presidential administration's pro-business policies are seemingly beneficial for the sector.
Richmond, the state capital of Virginia, thrives on economic energy primarily driven by entities in the fields of law, finance, and tourism. Home to the Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and nearly a dozen Fortune 500 companies, Richmond's hotel demand generators also include tourism draws such as craft breweries and world-class museums of art and science.
2017 is on pace to be a profitable year but it might spell the end of profitable growth as labor and health care costs are escalating beyond revenue increases. If that occurs, this would be the first year since 2010 where profits did not grow. Our outlook as of mid-year 2017 indicates it will be close but that we will fall short of another year of improved profits.
Heading into the second half of the year, North American hoteliers are continuing to experience stable average daily rates (ADR) alongside declines in bookings during the second quarter of 2017, according to new data from TravelClick's June 2017 North American Hospitality Review (NAHR). This marks an ongoing trend for hoteliers this year.