CBRE: Key hotel trends continue to improve

According to the April 2022 edition of CBRE Hotels’ U.S. Hotels State of the Union, the hotel industry recovery continues despite downward pressure on economic growth.

Key takeaways:

  • Consumers are feeling the pinch of rising inflation and hotels are grappling with increased labor costs and supply chain issues.
  • Since the pandemic, hotel wages are growing at twice the rate of the U.S. overall and 43% faster than hourly retail wages.
  • March trends continued to improve across all chainscales, and April weekly data suggests these gains have held.
  • Brand.com and OTAs have taken share from group and GDS booking channels as leisure demand has driven the recovery. However, group and business travel are improving, rising to 11.0% and 6.9% of demand share, up from 10.1% and 6.0% at the end of 2021, respectively.
  • Hotel-specific leading indicators show no signs of deterioration. However, macroeconomic leading indicators suggest there could be challenges ahead.
  • International travelers have returned from most of the top 10 markets except South Korea, China and Japan. East Coast gateway markets continue to strengthen. However, West Coast, Asia-dependent markets continue to lag.
  • Operating revenues have nearly recovered to prior peak levels. However, the reopening of lower margins amenities and inflationary pressures have caused gross operating profits to lag.