U.S. Hotel Industry to See Modest Gains in 2013, Says Revised STR Forecast

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According to the latest U.S. hotel forecast by STR during the 2012 Hotel Data Conference last week, the U.S. hotel industry is expected to see modest gains for year-end 2012 and in 2013,

For 2012, the industry is expected to record a 2.1-percent increase in occupancy to 61.2 percent, an average-daily-rate gain of 4.4 percent to US$106.15 and a revenue-per-available-room increase of 6.5 percent to US$65.01.

Supply and demand are expected to end the year with increases of 0.5 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

"Record levels of demand for hotel rooms persist," said Amanda Hite, president of STR. "However, it is clear to us that roomnight demand will stabilize with modest growth likely for the remainder of 2012 and into 2013. The developing story line is that industry-wide RevPARs will be driven by rate growth over the next two to three years. We anticipate room rates to reach 2008 levels, not factoring for inflation."

In 2013, STR predicts occupancy to be virtually flat with a 0.3-percent increase to 61.4 percent, ADR to rise 4.6 percent to US$111.01 and RevPAR to grow 4.9 percent to US$68.17.

Supply and demand are forecast to end 2013 with increases of 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.