HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee—A look at hotel industry performance data since 2011 shows that the nearest weekend to Valentine’s Day gets a sizable performance boost compared to surrounding matched weekends.
As one might anticipate, underlying industry data suggests that premiums in the extended Valentine weekend’s revenue per available room is largely driven by higher-than-expected transient segment demand/occupancy.
Source: STR, © 2020 CoStar Realty Information, Inc.
On average, the best industry RevPAR percentage gains occur when Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
When Valentine’s Day falls on a weekend, indexed and actual RevPAR gains are concentrated to the same weekend (which includes the Sunday). On years when the holiday occurs on a weekday, the RevPAR premiums are seen on the following weekend.
When Valentine’s Day occurs on Monday through Thursday, industry performance on the leading days into the holiday is notably soft. Perhaps some portion of leisure travelers are postponing stays in anticipation of the coming big weekend.
Monday and Tuesday holidays, which are further from the celebratory weekday, correspond with slightly reduced—though still very positive—lift on the week.
This year, Valentine’s Day occurs on a Friday, so industry watchers should expect a consistent and higher than normal weekend.
M. Brian Riley is a research analyst with STR’s Market Insights division.
This article represents an interpretation of data collected by STR, parent company of HNN. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.