Despite economic uncertainty in Europe, new data from TravelClick’s May North American Hospitality Review (NAHR) shows the North American hotel industry is continuing to post strong numbers in RevPAR, occupancy and ADR across all travel segment segments.
RevPAR grew 6.1% based on current reservations on the books in comparison to last year, according to the May NAHR, which examines group sales commitments and individual reservations in the 25 major North American markets for hotel stays that are booked by April 29, 2012, for the period of May 2012 to April 2013.
Group and transient segments are contributing to occupancy growth, with an ADR increase of 4.3% and 7%, respectively, in comparison to the same time last year. Nearly all 25 of the top North American markets showed an increase in ADR, with business travel rates up 6.9% and leisure travel rates up 6.7%.
Second quarter 2012 outlook
RevPAR is up of 9.7% in the second quarter compared to the same time last year supported by strong increases for the month of May (7.6%) and June (14.8%) based on current business on the books. May and June are showing a 4.7% increase in group committed occupancy and a 4.4% increase in transient demand in comparison to the same time period last year.
Third quarter 2012 outlook
Based on the behavior of early bookers, occupancy growth for the third quarter is being driven mostly by group demand at this point in the booking cycle. Reservations on the books show transient demand continuing strong, up 13.7% over the same time last year with group demand up 7% compared to a year ago. Additionally, ADR is up 7.5%, driven by both group and transient up 7.2% and 7.6%, respectively, in comparison to the same period last year based on current bookings.