Unsold U.S. hotel rooms near 1B as lodging crisis deepens
As spiking COVID-19 cases further derail travel, the U.S. hotel industry is closing in on 1 billion empty rooms for the year. More than 962 million room nights have gone unsold through last week, according to lodging data firm STR. That’s about 46% more than all of last year. Based on current occupancy rates, the industry will pass 1 billion unsold rooms around Christmas, deepening a crisis for owners that may worsen before a vaccine can fuel a recovery.
Some 70% of Americans will not travel for Christmas
A recent national survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association indicates that nearly two-thirds (69%) of Americans will not travel for Christmas. With a new surge in COVID-19 cases, in addition to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending that Americans do not travel over the holiday season, as well as new stay-at-home orders in place in states across the country, the holiday season will compound challenges already facing the hotel industry during this public health crisis. Key findings of the survey include:
- 74% of those traveling overnight for Christmas report they will stay with a family or friend
- Only 3 in 10 (32%) respondents have taken an overnight vacation or leisure trip since March
- Looking ahead to next year, 24% are likely to travel for spring break
- 44% say their next hotel stay for vacation or leisure travel will be a year or more from now or they have no plans to stay in a hotel
U.S. industry forecast adjusts in response to vaccines, winter surge
The recent surge in COVID-19 infections has dampened expectations for U.S. hotel performance through the first half of 2021, but news of effective vaccines has bolstered projections of U.S. lodging industry recovery beginning in earnest during the second half of next year, according to CBRE’s latest hotel forecast, which is forecasting an average national occupancy level of 44.4% during the first half of 2021. This measure increases to 55.7% during the year’s second half.