U.S. Hotel Performance Up in the Summer of 2010, Occupancy Rose 6.8%

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According to data from Smith Travel Research (STR), the U.S. hotel industry did well this summer.

STR reported this week that the U.S. hotel marketplace showed increases in all three key performance metrics during the summer of 2010.

Overall, summer occupancy rose 6.8 percent to 65.6 percent, average daily rate increased 1.3 percent to US$98.76 percent, and revenue per available room was up 8.2 percent to US$64.78. The summer season comprises June, July and August.

Demand rose 8.8 percent to 293,077,058 rooms sold, the highest summer room demand since STR started tracking hotel performance during 1987.

"The industry achieved an all-time high for absolute room demand during the June-to-August time period, which was a welcomed surprise," said Chad Church, director of special services at STR.

In summer weekly performance, 13 of 14 weeks reported positive RevPAR year-over-year percent change, hampered only by a shift in Memorial Day in late May/early June that drove the comparison week down 1.2 percent, Church noted.

July reported the largest occupancy increase among the three months, rising 7.0 percent to 67.9 percent. July also experienced the largest RevPAR growth, up 8.5 percent to US$67.35. August reported the largest ADR increase, rising 1.5 percent to US$98.69.

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