STR: GOPPAR down 101.7 percent in March

STR HAS BEGUN releasing profit and loss reports for U.S. hotels, and its first, for March, is all substantial losses, as expected considering the economic crash accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, GOPPAR for the month was down 101.7 percent to -$2.10 compared to the same time last year.

TRevPAR fell 64 percent to $104.93 for the month, and EBIDTA PAR declined 116.8 percent to -$15.44. One of hotels’ biggest expenses, labor, also fell, down 31.2 percent to $66.16 per room

“Our first U.S. monthly P&L release really could not have been timelier, given the unprecedented crisis the industry is facing amid the coronavirus pandemic,” said Joseph Rael, STR’s senior director of financial performance. “As reported via our traditional metrics, occupancy, room rates and RevPAR have plummeted at alarming rates with the virtual standstill of business, travel and leisure activity. As expected, this profitability data is very much aligned with the developing trend in RevPAR.”

At the beginning of the year, Rael said, the primary concerns for profitability in 2020 was flattening occupancy levels and a lack of hotelier pricing power.

“Now we’re at a point where thousands of properties have closed around the country due to their inability to operate at any level of profitability,” he said.

New York saw the steepest GOPPAR decline, down 203 percent, followed by Chicago with a 201.4 percent drop and Seattle, down 158 percent. Upper-upscale properties saw the worst decrease in GOPPAR, falling 108.1 percent.

STR previously reported losses in RevPAR, occupancy and ADR for the week of April 12 to 18 and for the first quarter of the year.