Committed occupancy for August 2012 through July 2013 is up 3.9% while ADR is up 4.1% year-on-year for North American hotels, according to new data from TravelClick.
From August 2012 to July 2013, the group and transient segments are showing increases in occupancy at 3.5% and 4.4%, respectively. Business demand is up 4.1%, and leisure demand is up 4.3% compared to the same time period last year. With respect to ADR, the group segment is up 2.2%, and the transient segment is up 5% year-over-year. Looking at the transient segment more closely, business and leisure rates are up 5% and 5.6%, respectively.
Committed occupancy for the fourth quarter continues to show gains, up 7.2% year-over-year. Group committed occupancy is up 5.3% and transient demand is strong, increasing 11.7% year-over-year. ADR for Q4 continues to strengthen, up 4.5% over the same time last year. The ADR increase is driven by both group and transient, up 4.6% and 4.4%, respectively.
It is important to remember that if the early booking trend continues, Q4 occupancy increases will level out over the coming months, since more travelers will be booking their stays now,” said Tim Hart, executive vice president, research and development at TravelClick. “We will be closely monitoring if travelers continue to exhibit early booking behavior and how hotels can capitalize on this booking pattern.”
TravelClick’s September 2012 North American Hospitality Review also found that individual business and leisure travelers are making hotel reservations further in advance, indicating that they have a higher price tolerance and are planning further ahead.
“Business and leisure travelers are booking further in advance, no longer holding out until the last minute. For hoteliers, this means that it is important to account for this shift in the booking window in their forecasting, relying less on comparisons to last year¹s booking pace and more on recent booking pace trends,” Hart said.