More evidence that consumers will see hotel rates continue to rise: U.S. hotels sold more than 113 room nights in July, making it “strongest single demand month ever,” hotel industry analyst Jan Freitag tells us on Hotel News Now. Freitag’s a senior veep with industry tracker STR.
How many rooms is 113 million? Well, it’s the equivalent of one in three Americans staying in a hotel based on our population of 317 million, he notes. Demand coupled with other factors means the power is in the hotel industry’s hands when it comes to pricing.
MORE STORIES: Women only floors: Enough already!
MORE STORIES: Hotels cater to coffee snobs
MORE STORIES: Grabbing an IPA on draft gets easier in airports
“There really is no end in sight to the prolonged pricing opportunities hotel revenue managers are experiencing,” Freitag said.
The industry’s July by the numbers, according to STR:
- It’s nearly 5 million more rooms in a year-over-year comparison
- It’s about 6.5 million more than in June
- Industry’s revenue per available room jumped 8.8%, the second best jump of the year
- The growth of new rooms again came in at less than 1%, the 44th consecutive month
- U.S. hotels filled an average of 73.6% of rooms, the third highest ever and the highest since the mid 1990s
- Room rates jumped 4.8%, or $5.35
Readers: What are you seeing in the U.S. when it comes to rates at Marriotts, Hiltons, Sheratons, Hyatts and other hotels?
