STR: GOPPAR fell 116.9 percent in April

BEGINNING AND ENDING under the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, April was no spring lark for the U.S. hotel industry. In its second P&L report, STR found profits dipped more than 110 percent for the month.

GOPPAR for April fell 116.9 percent in April to minus $17.98. TRevPAR dropped 92.9 percent to $17.39 and EBIDTA PAR fell 140.2 percent to minus $32.30.

“Whereas only the later portion of March was affected, April was the country’s first full month in the COVID-19 world, and the impact on U.S. hotel profitability was historic,” said Joseph Rael, STR’s senior director of financial performance. “As we have reported, occupancy levels hit the floor near the middle of the month, leaving many properties positioned to lose money by keeping their doors open. That led to more than 5,100 temporary closures around the country.”

Houston saw the steepest GOPPAR decline, down 135.3 percent, followed by Chicago with a 134.6 percent drop and San Francisco which fell 133.6 percent. Luxury properties were the hardest hit, falling 124.5 percent under last year’s April GOPPAR.

“As we’ve noted in our weekly performance releases, occupancy and ADR levels have trended upward over the last six weeks into late May,” Rael said. “It will be interesting to monitor how much revenue outside of room sales will come in when we process profitability metrics next month.”