The U.S. hotel industry saw positive results in January,
fueled by strong occupancy in spite of increasing supply. "The 54.1
percent absolute occupancy level matched January 2015 as the highest on record
for the month," said STR SVP of lodging insights Jan Freitag. "But
with 150,000 more rooms in the U.S., you can argue that this was the best
January on record." However, Freitag said occupancy, which rose 0.5
percent year over year, is still expected to decline in 2017 as supply growth
outpaces demand growth. U.S. average daily rate rose 3.2 percent year over year
to $120.72.
Among the 25 U.S. markets with the most hotel rooms,
Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia saw the largest year-over-year increase in
ADR, 38.3 percent to $171.12. Freitag attributed performance in the market,
where occupancy also increased 9.4 percent to 56.4 percent, to the presidential
inauguration and to the Women's March.
Tampa/St. Petersburg also saw a significant ADR
rise, 12.5 percent to $136.82, while Miami saw the steepest ADR decline, 9.3
percent to $215.29. Norfolk/Virginia Beach experienced the largest occupancy
increase, 12 percent to 42.4 percent, while Houston saw the steepest drop-off,
6.4 percent to 55.8 percent.