US hotels enjoy record growth run

The US hotel industry recorded a 100th consecutive month of growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in June, the longest unbroken run of growth in the sector’s history.

Hotel revenue has risen consistently in the US since the last fall in the key industry metric in February 2010 when RevPAR fell 3.8%, according to hotels’ data analyst STR.

The 100-month growth streak remains 12 months short of the industry’s longest overall cycle of expansion from December 1991 to March 2001. However, this period included a brief fall in RevPAR in August 1998.

STR president and chief executive Amanda Hite said: “The industry as a whole was in a great position as the country came out of recession [in 2010] with improved economic conditions, accelerated spending in leisure and business travel sectors and a negligible increase in room inventory.”

She said: “The lack of significant supply growth coupled with consistently high demand has enabled hoteliers to continue to push occupancy and room rates beyond peak levels.”

Hite noted: “The story is not the same for all markets, but overall the US hotel industry is as healthy as it had ever been.”

STR reports each of the key performance metrics averaged over 12 months “at all-time highs”, with occupancy at 66.2%, an average daily rate of $128.27, and RevPAR of $84.98.

The previous longest consecutive run of monthly increases in RevPAR was of 56 months between June 2003 and February 2008.

STR recorded 55,689 hotels and 5,250,635 hotel rooms in the US in June 2018.