by Calculated Risk on 12/13/2013 02:32:00 PM

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: US results for week ending 7 December

The U.S. hotel industry reported increases in the three key performance metrics during the week of 1-7 December 2013, according to data from STR.

In year-over-year comparisons, occupancy rose 0.2 percent to 55.4 percent; average daily rate was up 1.9 percent to US$109.70; and revenue per available room increased 2.1 percent to US$60.82.
emphasis added

The 4-week average of the occupancy rate is close to normal levels.

Note: ADR: Average Daily Rate, RevPAR: Revenue per Available Room.

The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four week average for the year 2000 through 2013.

Click on graph for larger image.

The red line is for 2013 and black is for 2009 - the worst year since the Great Depression for hotels.

Note: Although 2009 was the worst year since the Depression, there was a brief period in 2001 when the occupancy rate was even lower than in 2009 due to the attacks on 9/11.   In 2005, the occupancy rate was very high at the end of the year due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Through December 7th, the 4-week average of the occupancy rate is slightly higher than the same period last year and is tracking at pre-recession levels.   

This has been a solid year for the hotel industry and will be the best year for the hotel industry since 2007 (right before the recession).

Data Source: Smith Travel Research, Courtesy of HotelNewsNow.com