The U.S. hotel industry is projected to report a 50.6 percent year-over-year decline in revenue per available room in 2020 due to the impacts from Covid-19, according to a revised forecast from STR and Tourism Economics, released Monday. Property closures are anticipated to lead a supply decline of 14.9 percent. Demand is expected to fall 51.2 percent, leading to an occupancy decline of 42.6 percent to 37.9 percent.
"Travel has come to a virtual standstill, but we expect the market to begin to regain its footing this summer," said Tourism Economics president Adam Sacks in a statement. "Once travel resumes, the combination of pent-up travel demand and federal aid will help fuel the recovery as we move into the latter part of this year and next year."
The prior forecast, released at the end of January before the coronavirus outbreak had significantly impacted the U.S. hotel industry, had projected RevPAR as flat, the lowest such forecast since the recession in 2009.
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