Third-quarter U.S. hotel industry occupancy was the lowest for any third quarter on record, according to STR. The absolute level declined 32.2 percent year over year to 48 percent. Still, that was a marked improvement from the second-quarter decline of 52.1 percent year over year to 33.5 percent, evidence the industry is slowly recovering.
Third-quarter average daily rate fell 24.1 percent year over year to $101.25, up from $83.59 for the second quarter. Revenue per available room dropped 48.5 percent to $48.58. Again, that's an improvement from the second quarter's fall of 69.9 percent year over year to $27.98.
The key performance indicators for the month of September, however, were down slightly from August. Occupancy for September 2020 compared to a year prior dropped 28.2 percent to 48.3 percent. Average daily rate declined 24.9 percent to $99.12. Revenue per available room declined 46.1 percent to $47.87.
August's absolute U.S. occupancy levels had been the highest recorded since April. After the leveling off last month, recent October weekly data showed that average occupancy reached 50 percent for just the second time since the industry's low point, according to STR.
As it has since the pandemic's beginning, the overall industry on average performed better than the top 25 markets, both for the third quarter and for the month of September, save for the latter's ADR. Only three markets in September reported occupancy above 50 percent: Norfolk/Virginia Beach at 56.8 percent, San Diego at 54 percent and Los Angeles/Long Beach at 53.8 percent.
By chain scale for September, economy, midscale and upper-midscale reported occupancies above 50 percent. Upscale was behind with 46.6 percent. Upper-upscale and luxury continued to lag, at 30.5 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.
RELATED: STR: Slight Uptick in U.S. Hotels' August Performance From July