Hotel Occupancy Hit Record In July

The annual New York hotel show, rebranded this year as HX: The Hotel Experience, ran Nov. 8-10 at the Javits Center in New York City. It comes as the hotel business in the U.S. market is booming. According to the real estate investment and research firm Marcus & Millichamp, based in Calabasas, Calif., average hotel occupancy recorded its highest-ever rate in July as both business and vacation travelers hit the road. Nationwide, room nights increased 3.5% and occupancy reached 75.3%. The record occupancy levels were achieved as the industry has seen five years of improved occupancies and room rates. In July, RevPAR (revenue per average room) showed a robust 8.3 gain as the average daily room rate rose 5.9% on top of the occupancy gain.

Travel by international visitors to gateway cities such as New York and Chicago is holding up so far, despite the strength of the dollar and an expected slowdown in visits from China. Average occupancies in New York City reached an astounding 88.6%. Of the major gateways, only San Francisco saw a nominal drop in occupancy rates. The hotel business in smaller markets including Orlando, Nashville, Orange County, Calif., and Phoenix are experiencing double-digit gains in RevPAR.

The strong surge in occupancies and rooms rates is driving new construction and facilities upgrades. Large new hotels opened in cities including Houston, Miami and New York, driving a 1.2% gain in available rooms in July. Six of the top 25 markets saw a decline in available rooms in July, as properties went off-line for renovation.

And all this travel is driving strong foodservice sales. Technomic Inc. forecasts hotel foodservice will grow 8.9% in both 2015 and 2016 with real growth of 5.5% this year and 6% next. It’s the single fastest growing segment in foodservice at this time.

Information on the hotel segment can be found at marcusmillichamp.com. For information on Technomic research products, go to technomic.com.