April marked the second straight month of
record-setting occupancy at U.S. hotels, according to STR.
“After a stellar March, the April U.S. numbers
continued to impress,” according to STR senior vice president of strategic
development Jan Freitag. April's 68.8 percent occupancy was the highest ever
for an April, and the 99.4 million room nights represented the highest April demand
ever.
Occupancy increased 1.9 percent year over year, and the
month's performance pushed the annualized occupancy to 65 percent, the highest
ever reported by STR, according to Freitag.
Of the top 25 markets, Tampa/St.
Petersburg reported the largest year-over-year occupancy increase (5.6 percent
to 78.7 percent), while Houston reported the largest decrease (5.3 percent to
70.9 percent).
The U.S. average daily rate increased 4.5 percent to
$119.37. Two of the top 25 markets posted double-digit ADR increases: In the
San Francisco/San Mateo area, ADR increased 12.1 percent to $213.30, and Chicago
ADR rose 11.7 percent to $138.76. New York experienced the most significant decrease
(4.6 percent to $251.66) but the highest overall occupancy (86.9 percent). Supply
growth within the top 25 markets continued to improve, up 1.3 percent year over
year.
Freitag noted that results
were even better outside the top 25 markets, where strong demand and ADR
increases drove hotel performance. ADR increased 4.1 percent within the top 25
markets but rose an even greater 4.8 percent for all others.