US Lodging Market Update: July 2021

Overall, the US lodging performance for the month of July was a surprise, albeit a welcome one. Not only was the hotel performance a promising sign, but the steady decline in unemployment claims and consistent increase in total traveler throughput at the airports support the trend of economic recovery.

• Weekly room nights in July continued the growth trend, recovering 107% of the 2019 weekly demand for the same period.
• During the Hotel Data Conference, STR and Tourism Economics upgraded their occupancy forecast to 54.7% in 2021.
• Rooms Sold for the Economy and Midscale chain scales for July 2021 showed growth over July 2019 as the hotels in these segments continue to lead the recovery.
• Monthly occupancy by selected type showed the Destination Resort segment had an occupancy of 72.3% for July as Transient and Group demand lifted performance for the accommodation type.
• Airport hotels came in second at 69.9% occupancy for July, which had much lower Group demand, offset by strong demand from airline contract business.
• For the first month since the commencement of this report, all of the top 5 markets showed positive RevPAR growth, with Miami, FL leading at a 35.6% increase in RevPAR over July 2019.