North American Hoteliers See Positive Third Quarter

NEW YORK—The third quarter for North American hoteliers is, once again, stable growth across all travel segments, up 2.2% in average daily rates (ADR), 2.4% in bookings and 4.7% in RevPAR, according to TravelClick’s North American Hospitality Review (NAHR). This data continues the positive trend across the industry from the first half of the year.

In particular, transient business travel is experiencing noteworthy year-over-year upticks in ADR, bookings and RevPAR, up 3.1%, 6.1% and 9.4%, respectively in Q3 2018. Additionally, the transient segment overall—business and leisure—is up 2.6% in ADR, 2.5% in bookings and 5.1% in RevPAR.

“The first half of 2018 and the third quarter of the year thus far have proven to be strong for North American hoteliers,” said John Hach, senior industry analyst, TravelClick. “While the data indicate that these positive trends will continue throughout the coming months, hoteliers should still keep an eye on shifts in longer term trends as they prepare for the future.”

Twelve-Month Outlook (July 2018 – June 2019)

For the next 12 months (July 2018 – June 2019), transient bookings are up 2.6% year-over-year, and ADR for this segment is also up 2.6%. When broken down further, the transient leisure (discount, qualified and wholesale) segment is slightly up 0.5% in bookings, and ADR is up 2%. Additionally, the transient business—negotiated and retail—segment is up 5.9% in bookings and 3% in ADR. Lastly, group bookings are flat at 0% percent in committed room nights* over the same time last year, and ADR is up 1.3%.

“Even though the summer months continue to propel hoteliers forward during this peak travel season, hoteliers must still prepare for potential longer-term shifts in the market,” added Hach. “Right now, TravelClick’s data is showing a drop in group bookings in the second quarter of 2019 – a trend that may or may not go away quickly. As such, hoteliers should always tap into advanced business intelligence tools to stay on top of the business throughout the year, which is especially important in the event that any number of factors—the potential impact of tariffs and changing economic climate, unforeseen global events and the like – impact the industry.”

The July NAHR looks at group sales commitments and individual reservations in the 25 major North American markets for hotel stays that are booked by July 1, 2018, from the period of July 2018 – June 2019.

*Committed Occupancy – (Transient rooms reserved + group rooms committed) / capacity

The third quarter combines forward-looking data (July – September).