Occupancy increased significantly and room rates slightly
year over year in July, though some markets continued to see rates fall,
according to data released on Friday by Smith Travel Research.
The firm reported that July 2010 U.S. hotel occupancy was up
7 percent to 67.9 percent compared with July 2009. Average daily rate was up
1.3 percent, and revenue per available room was up 8.5 percent.
“The demand for rooms continued to be well above 2009
levels, and we are finally beginning to see signs of room rate recovery,
especially in the higher end of the market,” STR president Mark Lomanno said in
a statement. “In the coming months, we hope to see more balanced RevPAR growth
as operators begin to accelerate room rate growth.”
Rates increased the most in New York, where they were up by
11.6 percent. Rates continued to decrease in such markets as Dallas, Nashville
and Houston.
Occupancy, however, was up across all the top 25 markets with
the exception of Phoenix, where occupancy fell by 1.4 percent, according to
STR. The highest occupancy increases were in Detroit, up 20.9 percent; Oahu, up
15.9 percent; and New Orleans, up 13.1 percent.