Rates Drive Down U.S. Ext.-Stay Occupancy, Slow Supply Growth

The U.S. extended-stay market’s supply in 2022 grew 2.5 percent year over year, its smallest increase in “several years,” as strong average daily rates drove down occupancy, according to a new report from The Highland Group.

Extended-stay hotel occupancy in 2022 was below pre-pandemic levels in nearly 60 of the 100 U.S. markets Highland surveyed for the report, largely due to “strong ADR growth over the last two years.” The report also noted that smaller markets, lead the occupancy recovery indices,” such as Syracuse, N.Y.; Youngstown, Ohio; and Scranton and Lancaster, Pa. are leading the extended-stay recovery.

In addition to strong ADR growth, Highland cited moderate supply growth within the extended-stay market as a main reason behind some markets reporting “the lowest occupancy recovery in 2022.”

Among the markets with the highest ADR recovery in 2022 compared to 2019 were Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Scranton and Allentown, Pa.; and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. Each market reported higher ADR in 2022 than in 2019, with San Jose and San Francisco, Calif., reporting the lowest ADR recovery compared with 2019.

Highland in the report noted that while revenue per available room in 12 of the 100 markets has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, some “reported the strongest RevPAR growth over the last year.”

Angelique Platas www.businesstravelnews.com