Data Insights Blog

As expected, due to the end of the spring break leisure season, U.S. industry recovery came to a pause during the week ending 17 April as demand fell 4% week over week. The good news, room demand remained above 21 million for a fifth consecutive week.

As optimism and recovery ramp up, the hotel industry continues to turn to the data benchmarking experts at STR for global performance insights and actionable analyses. We understand our role in providing the solutions needed to help the industry operate through this next phase of the pandemic.

After an auspicious start to its performance recovery, Mumbai’s hotel industry appeared ready to continue setting the trend for urban markets in 2021. However, a second wave of COVID-19 cases has called a temporary halt to the market’s success.

The return of leisure travel has been obvious. We know, however, that full industry recovery hinges on the return of business travel. For insights into the topic, we surveyed our Traveler Panel as part of our Tourism After Lockdown series. Read more here.

One of the largest global celebrations each year is, undoubtably, Chinese New Year. Although the celebration this year (11-17 February 2021) felt different for the country, there was a noticeable impact around hotel performance.

The week of 4-10 April was all about demand. The number of U.S. room nights sold surged to 22 million, which was the most since the start of the pandemic. As a result, occupancy reached 59.7%, also the highest level of the past year.

Effective COVID-safe measures and clear communications by travel brands can do much to reassure consumers and mitigate the impact of these comfort barriers. Learn more about travel barriers in our latest “Tourism After Lockdown” consumer research series to find out more.

3/4 of travelers intend to take an overnight leisure trip in 2021. We know that local, short-term travel has been the “norm” this past year, but how has sentiment toward international and long-haul travel evolved? Find out in the first article from our Tourism After Lockdown series.

Weekly RevPAR rose to US$65.34, which was a 4.2% increase week over week and the industry’s highest level of the past 56 weeks when indexed to 2019.

India hotels achieved a 50% occupancy level in February, which was the first time the country eclipsed that monthly mark since the start of the pandemic.

With Spring Break waning, it wasn’t surprising to see performance slow a bit during the week. Room demand, which was 350,000 less than the week of 20 March, was still above 21 million for a second straight week. Before the week of 20 March, that level had not been seen since before the pandemic.

Indonesia finished 2020 in similar shape as its regional peers. Domestic demand was strong enough to lift hotel occupancy from pandemic low points but not sufficient to overcome the void in international travel. The impact from lost international demand is most obvious in Bali.

The 36th America’s cup, originally scheduled to start on 6 March 2021, was delayed a few days because of lockdown in measures in Auckland. Fortunately for hoteliers, a lift in demand was right on time and helped push the market’s daily occupancy to its highest level for this early portion of 2021.

U.S. performance results for February 2021

U.K. performance results - A look back and a look forward

Occupancy hit yet another pandemic high of 58.9%. Even when switching to STR’s TRI methodology, which factors in those properties temporarily closed due to the pandemic, occupancy still came in at 55.7%. Occupancy, regardless of methodology, has been on a steady rise since late January.

STR’s latest 51-chart demand map through 13 March 2021 shows that most states are moving closer to their levels from the same time last year.

Closed borders continue to limit the recovery ability of many destinations in the Asia Pacific region. However, Sanya, the southernmost city on China’s Hainan Island, continues to stand out thanks to high levels of domestic tourism.

The U.S. achieved its highest absolute weekly RevPAR ($53.45) since the week ending 14 March 2020. When indexed against 2019, RevPAR was 57% of the level achieved during the comparable week in 2019. Similar to the most recent weeks, that RevPAR index remains well in the recession classification.

Hotels in the Middle East have shown resilience throughout the pandemic, with performance at higher levels compared to other parts of the world.