Hotel rates in April increased globally year over year, with
the most pronounced increases in the Asia/Pacific and Middle East/Africa
regions, according to STR Global.
April rates in the Americas were up 3.3 percent, and
occupancy was 61.2 percent, up 4.7 percent. Rates in Sao Paulo were up almost
30 percent, while rates in Rio de Janeiro increased by 15.4 percent and in Miami
by 13.1 percent. Only two cities in the two continents—Toronto and Washington,
D.C.—reported slight rate decreases for the month.
In Asia/Pacific, rates were up 14.6 percent year over year,
despite a 2.1 percent drop in occupancy, due largely to occupancy declines in
Japan following the March earthquake and tsunami. The highest rate increase was
in Hong Kong, up 26.4 percent compared with the prior year.
Year-over-year comparisons in Europe are difficult,
according to STR, because of the massive travel shutdown following Iceland's volcanic eruption last year. STR Global managing director Elizabeth Randall
said longer-term trends show "steadily improving occupancy and average
room rate performance since March 2010."
Cities with the largest rate increases were Salzburg,
Austria (up 25.8 percent), and Paris (up 16.7 percent).
Although occupancy in the Middle East and Africa decreased
by 9.7 percent to 59 percent, average daily rates were up 10.8 percent. The
largest rate increases were in South Africa: Rates were up 21.6 percent in
Johannesburg and by 15.7 percent in Cape Town. Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Cairo all
reported double-digit rate decreases.