STR reports U.S. hotel performance for October 2009

The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during October, according to data from STR.

In year-over-year measurements, the industry’s occupancy fell 6.2 percent to end the month at 58.1 percent. Average daily rate dropped 8.2 percent to finish the month at US$99.08. Revenue per available room for the month decreased 13.8 percent to finish at US$57.57.

“Transient occupancy continued the improvement it has shown in the recent months; however, this slight rebound has not resulted in any meaningful change in the rate of ADR declines,” said Mark Lomanno, president of STR. “It appears it will take a few more months of better demand results before any pricing rebound occurs.”

Among the Top 25 Markets, San Francisco/San Mateo, California, reported the largest occupancy increase, up 5.2 percent to 83.7 percent, followed by Oahu Island, Hawaii (+4.8 percent to 76.8 percent), and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota-Wisconsin (+3.8 percent to 63.3 percent). Two markets experienced double-digit occupancy decreases: Houston, Texas (-31.9 percent to 57.8 percent), and Dallas, Texas (-11.1 percent to 54.9 percent).

New Orleans, Louisiana, was the only market to report an ADR increase, rising 4.4 percent to US$123.04. Three markets posted ADR declines of more than 15 percent: New York, New York (-18.3 percent to US$254.36); Houston (-16.1 percent to US$91.99); and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida (-15.1 percent to US$85.93).

New Orleans reported the only RevPAR increase for the month, up 3.2 percent to US$78.53. Four markets experienced RevPAR declines of more than 20 percent: Houston (-42.9 percent to US$53.14); Seattle, Washington (-22.8 percent to US$65.89); Phoenix, Arizona (-21.6 percent to US$56.64); and Orlando, Florida (-20.3 percent to US$52.57).