Hotel News Now each week features a news roundup from a different region of the world. Today’s review covers the Americas.
STR shares US July performance data
The U.S. hotel industry reported positive results in the three key performance metrics during July 2015, according to data from STR, parent company of Hotel News Now.
In year-over-year results, the U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy was up 2.3% to 75.3%; its average daily rate rose 5.9% to $124.32; and its revenue per available room increased 8.3% to $93.61.
“The July occupancy of 75.3% was the highest single occupancy of any month ever recorded by STR,” said Jan Freitag, STR’s senior VP for lodging insights. “Hand in hand with this goes the demand of more than 116.8 million roomnights sold, which is 4 million roomnights higher than last July and another all-time record for any month. This translates to a demand increase of 3.5%, which is a continued healthy clip and actually higher than it was in June (+3.2%).”
Pipeline data released for July
U.S.: There are 3,597 projects totaling 430,917 rooms under contract in the United States, according to the July 2015 STR Pipeline Report. This represents an 11% increase in the number of rooms under contract compared with July 2014 and a 19% year-over-year increase in rooms under construction.
Caribbean/Mexico: There are 167 hotels totaling 29,113 rooms under contract in the Caribbean/Mexico region, according to the July 2015 STR Construction Pipeline Report. This represents a 3.5% increase in rooms under contract compared with July 2014 and a 4.5% year-over-year increase in rooms under construction.
Central/South America: There are 431 hotels totaling 67,920 rooms under contract in the Central/South America region, according to the July 2015 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report. This represents a 7.9% increase in rooms under contract compared with July 2014 and a 25.1% year-over-year increase in rooms under construction.
HVS: South American market pulse
HVS/HotelInvest, in association with HNN sister company STR Global, analyzed hotel performance in the main cities of the South American region during the first half of this year. Here is a rundown of some of the findings:
- Lima presents the best performance: This city was the only one of the analyzed that achieved a positive change in RevPAR.
- Bogota shows strong demand growth: Colombia is one of the countries with the highest economic growth in the region.
- America’s Cup boosts demand in Santiago: The soccer event had a strong impact on June’s performance, softening the fall in demand of the early months in 2015.
Read more from the report.
Brazilian hotels hit 10 years of RevPAR growth
Brazilian urban hotels and condo hotels in 2014 enjoyed their 10th consecutive year of growth in RevPAR, according to findings from Lodging Industry in Numbers, a study conducted by JLL in partnership with the Brazil Hotel Operators Forum.
Based on information about 2014 operating performance supplied by more than 460 hotels, resorts and condo hotels, the study found that RevPAR expansion was more modest in 2014 compared to previous years. The weak rate of economic growth proved to be a challenge across the country; fortunately, it was largely offset by the positive impact of the FIFA World Cup soccer competition in the country’s principal hotel markets, according to the report.
Wyndham sees record growth in Latin America, Caribbean
Wyndham Hotel Group announced that its Latin America and Caribbean portfolio registered record room growth in the second quarter of 2015. The world’s largest hotel group added 11 new properties and 1,281 rooms in the region from April to June, which represents an increase of 15% versus same quarter last year, according to a news release.
During the quarter, Wyndham opened new hotels across its key markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, increasing the company’s system size in the region by the end of the second quarter to more than 17,000 rooms across 146 properties, according to the release.
Deals and development
- Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is expanding Radisson Blu in Latin America with three hotels: Radisson Blu Santiago, La Dehesa in Chile; and Radisson Blu San Andrés Resort & Spa and Radisson Blu ar Santa Marta Resort & Spa in Colombia.
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced an agreement with GH Pegasus to open Aloft Tijuana, Aloft Coatzacoalcos and Aloft Poza Rica by the end of 2017. It also announced an agreement with Hoteles Real Chihuahua to unveil the Sheraton Chihuahua Soberano Hotel, a conversion, by November 2015.
- Courtyard by Marriott made its Chilean debut with the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Santiago Las Condes.
- Hedge fund Paulson & Company is investing about $20 million to buy and renovate the San Juan Beach Hotel in Condado in Puerto Rico.
- InterContinental Hotels Group opened the first Holiday Inn hotel in the Santa Fe district of Mexico City.
Compiled by Alicia Hoisington.