by Calculated Risk on 7/17/2016 11:06:00 AM

Note: The large year-over-year decline in the occupancy rate last week was related to the timing of the July 4th weekend.

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: US hotel results for week ending 9 July

The U.S. hotel industry reported mixed year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 3-9 July 2016, according to data from STR.

In comparison with a full 2015 week that did not include the Fourth of July, the industry’s occupancy decreased 6.4% to 67.4%. Average daily rate was up 1.3% to US$121.11. Revenue per available room fell 5.2% to US$81.59.
emphasis added

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

The red line is for 2016, dashed orange is 2015, blue is the median, and black is for 2009 - the worst year since the Great Depression for hotels.

2015 was the best year on record for hotels.

So far 2016 is tracking just behind 2015, and well ahead of the median rate.

The 4-week average occupancy rate should remain above 70% during the Summer travel period.

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