by Calculated Risk on 8/27/2020 11:45:00 AM

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: US hotel results for week ending 22 August

U.S. hotel occupancy fell to a three-week low during the period of 16-22 August, according to the latest data from STR.

16-22 August 2020 (percentage change from comparable week in 2019):

• Occupancy: 48.8% (-30.3%)
• Average daily rate (ADR): US$100.08 (-22.7%)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$48.81 (-46.1%)

The prior week, the industry had reached 50% occupancy for the first time since mid-March. Lower occupancy came as U.S. room demand declined week over week for the first time since mid-April. Reflective of school openings and less vacation travel, the industry sold 492,000 fewer room nights than the previous week, which represented a decrease of 2.7%. STR projects similar challenges with no corporate demand to replace leisure demand lost to the beginning of the school year.
emphasis added

The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using the four week average.

Click on graph for larger image.

The red line is for 2020, dash light blue is 2019, blue is the median, and black is for 2009 (the worst year probably since the Great Depression for hotels).

The leisure travel season usually peaks at the beginning of August, and then the occupancy rate typically declines sharply in the Fall.

With so many schools closed, the leisure travel season might have lasted longer than usual this year, but it is unlikely business travel will pickup significantly in the Fall.

Note: Y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the seasonal change.