(May 1, 2015) The hotel industry is firing on all cylinders, according to Jan Freitag, STR’s senior VP of strategic development. All key performance indicators are at all-time highs, and in a recent Hotel News Now column Freitag forecasted more record-breaking demand and revenue numbers. In Washington State, March occupancy was 65.5 percent and with the Seattle market driving up the average with 74 percent occupancy for the month.

U.S. figures for occupancy were slightly higher and reached the highest ever recorded in March (66.8 percent). The industry as a whole sold more than 100 million room nights, which was 3.3 million room nights more than last year. Washington also saw strong RevPAR at $72.07, up 8.2 percent. Washington’s average daily rate for March was $110 ADR, up 5.3 percent from 2014 compared to a 5 percent increase nationally. Seattle enjoyed a 6.9 percent growth in ADR to reach $128.82.

The Hotel Industry’s Pulse (HIP) indicator, a predictive analytic by e−forecasting, also showed positive growth for the industry. HIP uses hotel jobs, hotel capacity and spending on hotels as demand and supply indicators for business activity.

The hotel industry surpassed the national economy over the past year reported e-­forecasting CEO Maria Sogard in a recent Hospitality Trends article. “In the last twelve months – March 2014 to March 2015 – overall economic activity, measured by e-forecasting.com’s monthly US GDP – rose by 2.8 percent. Over the same period, economic activity in US Hotels, measured by HIP, increased by 4.2 percent.” Sogard said.

Additional Resources

Hotel News Now infographic on March 2015 performance indicators

Freitag’s 5: Is sustained supply growth here? (April 24, 2015 Hotel News Now)

Solid Gains for US Hoteliers in March (April 16, 2015, Hospitality Trends)

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