As we approach month-end, Fall, the holidays, and not to mention a presidential election, we understand and share the level of angst across our industry as we all wait to see how hotel performance will fare.
Hoping to get a jump on performance by leveraging future business on the books, the latest data from The MAPP Report, by myDigitalOffice, proves that it’s still a bit too early to tell…
Similar to what we have seen in recent months, though trending slightly ahead of what we saw in August and September, we entered the month of October at just over 20% occupancy.
While we didn’t experience the same pace of pickup in the first two weeks, in the month for the month (likely a sign of vacations ending, schools being back in session, etc.), we’ve continued to climb steadily. As of Tuesday, 10/27, we were sitting at just above 35%. Considering August closed at roughly 35% for the month and September a few points higher, it could be a small, but still relevant, green shoot that we’re at 35% for October with nearly two weeks remaining in the month.
For November, Thanksgiving is a big travel week and we are currently (as of Tuesday, 10/27) sitting at around 18% occupancy across the US, which isn’t where we’d like it to be, of course. However, it’s trending similarly to previous holidays that we’ve tracked.
Meaning, last week’s data is approximately five weeks out from the holiday weekend. At that same time prior to Independence Day we were in almost the exact same position, but we FINISHED at nearly 40%. Let’s hope we see that same uptick, and then some, in the coming weeks.
Additionally, we have been studying how different markets have been affected by the pandemic, and this chart reaffirms many theories that have been circulating through the industry.
- Large, dense, metro/urban markets are having the toughest time
- Markets like: Washington DC, Dallas, Seattle, Orlando, New York (normally at consistently high occupancy, RevPAR and ADR levels) are struggling
- Smaller markets, many with outdoor and drive-to attractions (i.e. FL beach towns, Chattanooga TN, Phoenix, Greenville SC) have outperformed
It will be interesting to monitor changes to these trends as leisure/vacation trips slow down and business transient – hopefully – starts to pick back up.
