Current sentiment remains cautiously optimistic.
From 2019 to 2022, U.S. hotel revenue saw the sharpest decline and subsequent recovery of any prior cycle. Prior declines due to economic and business “black swan” events required four to eight years for RevPAR to recover. The current market has seen RevPAR and overall revenue in the 12 months ending June 2023 reach a historical peak, just three years from the initial decline. The recovery is driven by exceptionally strong daily rate growth, as national hotel occupancy is still striving to recover to 2019 levels.
The word of the moment is “normalization.” Applied to the national hotel industry performance, participants recognize that the revenue recovery is nearing 2019 levels, and future achievements are more in line with pre-pandemic historical trends. With mask use seemingly far behind us, consumers are more enthusiastic about travel than ever. Questions still remain about business travel trends and the full resurgence of downtown urban hotels, but national industry performance is maintaining an upward trajectory.
