NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Bifurcation across the hotel industry continued in July, with demand growth in the economy segment trending down year to date while the upscale and upper-upscale segments performed well compared to the national average.
In the latest episode of "Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast," the crew took the show on the road, recording its first podcast in front of a live audience during the 2024 Hotel Data Conference.
STR Vice President of Analytics Isaac Collazo said year-to-date revenue per available room growth went from 1.4% in June down to 1.2% in July due to weak performance in the month. In July, year-over-year RevPAR growth was at 0.1%, while average daily rate growth was 0.6% and occupancy fell 0.5%.
Some of that performance can be attributed to shifts in the calendar.
"We traded a Saturday and a Sunday for an extra Tuesday and Wednesday," he said. "We looked at the 29 match days of the month; RevPAR wasn't that much better those 29 days. Match days were only up 0.6%."
Another factor was the July Fourth holiday falling on a Thursday after being on Tuesday and Monday, respectively, the past two years.
"This July matches to July in 2019, when the Fourth of July fell exactly the same way. And in that year, it also was a weaker July," he said.
CoStar National Director of Hospitality Analytics Jan Freitag said RevPAR only being up 0.1% year over year in July "is not great" but there were also some positive takeaways.
"If you look at the urban preliminary numbers, RevPAR is up 3%. And if you dig down, there's group. It was another very, very strong group month," he said. "Everybody wants to be together again. ... I continue to be hopeful that group is going to really accelerate."
The podcast also welcomed its first guest on the show, Alex Cisneros, chief commercial officer at Mint House. When asked about changes in consumer behavior, Cisneros said there's been a shift to more last-minute bookings, and the average duration of stay at his properties are trending down a day, losing shoulder nights like Sunday and Thursday.
But the biggest change in consumer behavior has come from business travelers, he said.
"The major change I've seen is that business travelers are looking for a different experience, and I think they're looking for more space or something that feels different," he said.
More From This Episode
Other topics in this episode include:
- Freitag and Collazo share some takeaways from the conference.
- Freitag points out how Transportation Security Administration data was especially strong around the Fourth of July despite muted hotel demand, which could point to the high international outbound numbers.
- The group discusses hot markets and destinations, as well as the appetite for experiential travel.
- The evolution of experiential travel, and what that looks like today.
- What the next popular event or trend like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour could look like.
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