by Calculated Risk on 4/08/2010 11:32:00 AM

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: Luxury leads weekly performance

Overall, the U.S. industry’s occupancy ended the week with a 3.6-percent decrease to 54.1 percent, ADR dropped 4.4 percent to US$94.45, and RevPAR was down 7.9 percent to US$51.05.

The following graph shows the occupancy rate by week for 2009 and 2010, and the median for 2005 through 2007.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

Notes: the scale doesn't start at zero to better show the change, and the holidays don't always line up.

The graph shows the distinct seasonal pattern for the occupancy rate; higher in the summer because of leisure/vacation travel, and lower on certain holidays.

The decline in occupancy this week breaks a streak of six consecutive weeks with higher year-over-year occupancy rates. Remember that last year (2009) was the lowest occupancy rate since the Great Depression - the average for this week is around 66%, so the current 54.1% is far below normal.

Data Source: Smith Travel Research, Courtesy of HotelNewsNow.com