by Calculated Risk on 11/18/2010 02:51:00 PM

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: Chain scales report strong weekly results

Overall, the industry’s occupancy increased 11.1% to 58.4%, ADR was up 2.7% to US$98.77, and RevPAR ended the week up 14.1% to US$57.65.

The following graph shows the four week moving average for the occupancy rate by week for 2008, 2009 and 2010 (and a median for 2000 through 2007).

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

Notes: the scale doesn't start at zero to better show the change. The graph shows the 4-week average, not the weekly occupancy rate.

On a 4-week basis, occupancy is up 9.2% compared to last year and 6.1% below the median for 2000 through 2007.

Note: Even though the occupancy rate is above the level of the same week in 2008, and RevPAR (revenue per available room) is up 14.1% compared to the same week in 2009 - RevPAR is still down 3.7% compared to the same week in 2008 - and the 2nd half of 2008 was a very difficult period for the hotel industry.

This suggests some increase in business travel - and probably a little more business confidence (the spring and fall are mostly business travel).

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