Hotel Executives Predict Strong July 4 Holiday Bookings for 2023
On the heels of a robust new jobs report, hotel industry executives are predicting a strong July 4 holiday weekend.
In particular, Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano told Yahoo Finance that revenue per available room is up about 10 percent. And other indicators are positive also.
“Forward bookings through the end of the year look particularly strong,” Capuano said during an appearance on Yahoo Finance Live yesterday.
Hilton’s CFO, Kevin Jacobs, expresses similar optimism during an interview with the program, noting: “Demand is strong across the board, I don’t care where you are in the world.” Jacobs added the caveat that while they don’t have extensive data for the year ahead yet, the summer already looks positive.
Multiple industry reports have indicated that consumers are eager to travel this summer and will do so in record numbers, even amid inflation and higher sticker prices for everything from airline tickets to gas and food.
Just last week, Allianz released its 15th annual Vacation Confidence Index, which revealed that Americans are not slowing down when it comes to splurging on summer getaways. In fact, Americans’ total spending on summer vacations is likely to surpass the $200 billion mark and reach a whopping $214 billion before all is said and done, according to Allianz.
Expedia, meanwhile, has released its own data surrounding expectations for the summer travel season, which shows that flight searches are up 25% overall for June through August compared to the same time last year. Expedia CEO Peter Kern told Yahoo Finance that the booking engine continues to see a “ton of demand.”
Earlier this year, the American Hotel & Lodging Association released its annual State of the Hotel Industry report projecting that the industry would surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand this year. The same report forecasted that room revenue will reach new heights this year of $197.48 billion, which is up from $170.35 billion in 2019.
In addition, 2023 room-night demand is projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels, reaching 1.3 billion occupied room nights compared to 1.29 billion in 2019).