US hotels set another monthly record for average daily rate (ADR) in July, according to hospitality research firm STR, in a further sign of the rapid recovery in the global hotel industry as well as inflation pushing up prices.
STR’s figures showed that ADR in the US reached $159.08 in July, which was up by 17.5 per cent higher than in July 2019. It was also a 2.6 per cent month-on-month increase from the average rate of $155.04 in June 2022.
But hotel occupancy in the US has still been hindered by the slow return of midweek business travel demand and remains below the levels of summer 2019.
Overall US occupancy levels in July declined slightly to 69.6 per cent after finally cracking through the 70 per cent barrier in June for the first time since the Covid-19 crisis started in early 2020.
The recovery of the hotel sector in key parts of Europe is already outpacing the US, particularly in London and the UK where average rates have reached record levels this summer. Corporate bookings across Europe have also surpassed pre-Covid levels.
This trend is expected to continue with CWT and GBTA predicting that global hotel rates will continue rising during the rest of 2022 and throughout 2023.