Global leisure demand beginning to bloom - U.S. RevPAR moderated after three unsteady weeks.
STR's global 'bubble chart' update for the four weeks ending 6 April 2024 shows 60% of markets with year-over-year growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR). That volume was noticeably less than the 77% of markets with growth in our last update, showing more of the world has reached a normalization period.
Global occupancy reached the highest level of the year (68.4%). Key country occupancy ranged from 76.4% in the U.K. to 59.3% in Indonesia. Spain, Italy and China all saw occupancy above 72%, with only China showing a year-over-year decrease.
Most of the largest global countries saw RevPAR decline as well, which is in line with past years and the Easter holiday.
Second consecutive weekly U.S. RevPAR decrease - Weakness in ADR growth persists - Demand bifurcating, growing in upper tiers and falling in lower tiers - Global RevPAR declines for the first time since 2021
STR's global update as of 9 March 2024 shows that 77% of markets increased revenue per available room (RevPAR) from the comparable period in 2023, which was 4% more than the last update. Occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) were also steadily higher than last year.
Group business is driving industry performance. For the 10th consecutive week, group demand (among Luxury and Upper Upscale hotels) increased, rising 7.4% YoY. Group demand was just one percent below 2019.
In this global update, STR focuses on performance, pipeline, and factors that influenced the data in 2023, while also looking ahead to what’s in store for the rest of 2024.
Growth in revenue per available rooms (RevPAR) returned to the U.S. following the previous week's decrease. Occupancy held somewhat steady, average daily rate (ADR) increased, weekday (Monday-Wednesday) performance grew, and group demand exploded, surpassing both the 2023 and 2019 comparables. Looking at select top countries elsewhere in the world, strong performance continued with eight of 10 countries seeing positive occupancy gains and six of 10 seeing ADR increases.
As Spring travel gears up, falling demand and softening ADR in the U.S. is concerning, however, hotel performance is expected to grow in the weeks ahead. Global performance continued to be strong and is expected to remain on a positive trajectory over the coming months, helped by Americans who continue to travel abroad.