The U.S. hotel market still is showing signs of strength heading into the new year, based upon both the latest global performance numbers from Smith Travel Research and The Bench and a report from global hotel investment services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels indicating a record year of growth in hotel real estate sales.
Performance numbers show that even though occupancy was almost flat, the average daily rate in North America for the first 10 months of 2007 increased to $104.52, up 6.3 percent compared with the same period last year. In New York, the average daily rate was up 11.6 percent to $257.14. Revenue per available room, meanwhile, was up 6.4 percent in North America.
In addition, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels this week released its global Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, which reported that year-to-date U.S. hotel transaction volume exceeded $45 billion, setting a record for the fourth year in a row. About half of that volume came from nine U.S. mega-deals, including the Lightstone Group's acquisition of Extended Stay America for $8 billion
(BTNonline, April 18). The survey also predicted continued strength in such major U.S. hotel markets as New York and San Francisco.
"These high barrier-to-entry cities are top destinations witnessing record occupancy rates, boosted by foreign travelers taking advantage of the low U.S. dollar," Kristina Paider, senior vice president of marketing and research for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said in a statement. "In addition, the weak dollar, which is expected to remain weak, will fuel increased offshore investment into U.S. real estate."
Globally, performance numbers are even stronger. The other three regions monitored by Smith Travel Research and The Bench—Asia/Pacific, Europe and the Middle East/Africa—all saw double-digit percentage growth in both average daily rate and RevPAR in the first 10 months of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006. The most dramatic increases were in the Middle East/Africa region, which had a 17.2 percent increase in average daily rate and a 22.5 percent increase in RevPAR.