STR: U.S. hotels’ occupancy flat for week ending Sept. 19

U.S. HOTELS’ PERFORMANCE remained flat for the week ending Sept. 19. The highest occupancies were again driven by disasters, such as Hurricane Laura and the wildfires on the West Coast.

Occupancy for the week ended at 48.6 percent, slightly up from 48.5 percent the week before and down 31.9 percent year over year. ADR finished at $95.84, down from the prior week’s $98.99 and a 28.9 percent drop from the previous year. RevPAR also dropped to $46.54 from the prior week’s $47.96, a 51.6 percent fall from 2019.

“Demand rose slightly, up 0.3 percent, and the highest occupancy markets were once again those housing displaced residents from Hurricane Laura and western wildfires, with California South/Central showing the highest level in the metric, 74.7 percent,” STR said in a press release. ”The Louisiana South, at 72.8 percent, and Louisiana North, at 72.3 percent, markets were also among the top five highest occupancy levels for the week.”

The top 25 markets together saw lower occupancy than the national averages, 42.7 percent, but higher ADR, $98.93, than all other markets.

Reaching or surpassing 50 percent occupancy were Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia at 56.4 percent; San Diego at 53.9 percent; Los Angeles/Long Beach at 53.3 percent; and Detroit at 50.6 percent. Oahu Island, Hawaii, continued to see the lowest  occupancy at 19.7 percent followed by Orlando, Florida, at 29.9 percent.