U.S. hotels’ revenue per available room (RevPAR) in 2012 rose faster than previously estimated, as a combination of a continued recovery in travel demand and virtually no new supply pushed up room rates, Smith Travel Research reported.
U.S. RevPAR increased 6.8% from a year earlier, up from STR’s December forecast of a 6.6% increase.
U.S. room rates rose 4.2% to $106.10, while occupancy advanced 2.5 percentage points to 61.4%.
Travelers booked 1.09 billion U.S. room nights last year, up 3% from 2011 and more than the previous record of 1.03 billion room nights in 2007.
“Fiscal cliffs, hurricanes, elections and, at times, a sense of overwhelming uncertainty did not deter positive 2012 year-end performance results,” STR COO Brad Garner said in a statement.
Room revenue in Oahu, New Orleans and Houston grew the fastest out of the largest U.S. markets.
Oahu’s RevPAR jumped 17% from a year earlier, while RevPAR at New Orleans and Houston hotels climbed 15% and 14%, respectively.
RevPAR at Washington, D.C., hotels fell 0.5%; it was the only market within the country’s largest 25 to have a RevPAR decline.
STR will release its 2013 and 2014 RevPAR forecasts at the Americas Lodging and Investment Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
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