Global hotel occupancy this year is surpassing 2022 levels by 10 percent, according to data released Wednesday by travel technology company Amadeus, and fourth-quarter occupancy is set to increase by about 11 percent.
Meanwhile, fourth-quarter occupancy and revenue per available room growth in European markets is projected to outpace that of the United States—a first, according to the Amadeus report.
The report encompassed global occupancy and rate data in European, North American and Latin American regions from Amadeus' Demand360 platform. The research included "two years of historical and one year of forward-looking on-the-books data from over 35,000 data providers," the company said. Benchmark data from 2019 was also included.
According to the report, global hotel occupancy from January 2023 through August 2023 is up nearly 10 percent over the same period in 2022. Worldwide occupancy levels are "becoming more predictable," according to the report, as booking patterns begin to mimic "historical trends." STR reported similar trends in North America, as metrics in the U.S. and Canada showed signs of stabilization in August.
Standout Markets and Metrics
While North America and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region both are ahead of the worldwide 2023 average hotel occupancy, EMEA markets are having the standout year, with key destinations in France, Italy and Greece turning in some of the strongest numbers, thanks to cultural and special event-driven travel pulling in holidaymakers over the summer months. But the strong performance looks to extend into fall as well.
For the October to December 2023 period, including on-the-books occupancy, EMEA is pacing 20 percent ahead of the worldwide occupancy average. The region's booked Q4 occupancy is 14 percent higher than its 2022 occupancy levels, according to the report.
North America's Q4 on-the-books occupancy is pacing 5 percent ahead of the worldwide average.
Globally, RevPAR in 2023 is up year over year thanks to strong average daily rates, according to Amadeus. Average worldwide RevPAR is $116 this year so far, just shy of $117 in 2019 and nearly 17 percent above $99 in 2022.
In 2023 so far, EMEA RevPAR is approximately 16 percent above the worldwide average, the highest percentage regional increase, according to Amadeus. North America's 2023 average RevPAR is 3 percent ahead of the worldwide average.
Group Business Strengthening
Worldwide group occupancy, which includes leisure and business groups,
has averaged 12 percent so far in 2023, consistently outpacing 2022 month over month, and building momentum
over the course of the year. "There are more groups traveling in 2023 than we saw in 2022," report authors wrote, but added that group bookings globally are 17 percent behind 2019 levels in 2023 so far.
Forward-looking data for group business indicates more potential. Group occupancy is expected to hit a high in October at 16 percent before easing back to the 12 percent annual average in November. The sturdy fall numbers will put hoteliers in a "stronger position to rely on group travel entering 2024 than they were in January 2023."