GOPPAR REMAINED BELOW zero for U.S. hotels in July, according to HotStats global P&L data for the month. There was some good news in that profit margins were up over the previous month.
COVID-19 cases in the U.S. peaked around 70,000 during the month, HotStats said citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers. With the resulting impact on the travel industry, TRevPAR was up to $43.68, a 29 percent increase from June but down 82.4 percent from the previous year. RevPAR was up from the previous month to nearly $30, a $7 gain over June and 230 percent higher than April’s $8.94.
“GOPPAR, however, remained below zero at negative $5.59, a 106.7 percent decline from the year prior, the result of a revenue shortage combined with a continued cost base that is smaller, but still existent,” HotStats said. “Total labor costs were down 72 percent year-over-year, and after an actual jump in June over May, settled back to around $25 per available room, which is where they’ve been since the impact of the pandemic began showing up in performance data in April.”
HotStats reported that hotels’ profit margin improved 46 percentage points over June to negative 12.8 percent, the best it’s been since March. Globally, most regions also continued to see negative profitability with the exception of the Asia-Pacific region where GOPPAR has grown for two consecutive months.
Still, each month shows some improvement.
“The global hotel industry is far from recovered, but the proverbial light at the end of tunnel is out there,” said David Eisen, HotStats director of hotel intelligence for the Americas,. “Getting back to profitability will take a careful mix of revenue generation and expense control. In this current environment we’ve seen, expectedly, both revenue and expenses come down. The hope is that on the way back up, revenue climbs and hoteliers continue to keep costs at bay, thereby ensuring quicker and more sustained profitability.”
In its P&L for July, STR’s results slightly higher. It reported GOPPAR reached $5.74 for the month, the first positive profit amount since February but still down 93.3 percent versus last year. TRevPAR was $60.04, a 74.1 percent decline from last year, while EBITDA PAR stood at negative $9.24, a 115.1 percent drop from last year. Labor costs was $28.46, 64.8 percent drop.
