U.S. hotel performance surged in the final week of March, capping off a historic first quarter for the industry.
Revenue per available room increased 8.3% year over year in the week of March 22-28, the largest weekly gain since January 2025 and on top of a 6.8% increase during the same week last year. Room demand rose for an eighth consecutive week, putting the U.S. hotel industry on pace to record the highest number of rooms sold in any first quarter on record.
The strength of the week was broad‑based, with gains across all three key performance metrics. Both average daily rate and occupancy increased, marking the fourth straight week in which RevPAR, ADR and occupancy all grew year over year. Over that four‑week stretch, all three metrics were higher in 26 of the 28 days, underscoring the consistency of demand as the first quarter comes to a close.
Larger markets drove a sizable portion of last week’s growth, with the top 25 U.S. hotel markets combining for a 12.9% increase in RevPAR, an 8.5% lift in ADR and a 2.9‑percentage‑point increase in occupancy. This was the strongest week of growth for these markets in more than a year. The ADR increase lifted year‑to‑date ADR in the top 25 markets to 2.5%, surpassing the rate of inflation for the first time this year. Prior to four straight weeks of growth in March, year‑to‑date ADR growth in these markets stood at just 1%.
March’s momentum was exemplified last week by a calendar shift of conferences, religious holidays, spring break and large sporting events. Group demand for luxury and upper‑upscale hotels increased by 248,000 rooms sold, the largest weekly gain of the year and a major driver of performance in the top 25 markets. This increase came on top of the roughly 500,000 rooms of group demand growth recorded during the same week in 2025, which was compared against Easter week in 2024. In the past four weeks, group demand has accounted for 30% of total demand among luxury and upper-upscale hotels, up 4 basis points from a year ago.
Performance gains were also seen across every hotel class. Each class posted RevPAR growth for the second consecutive week and for the third time in March. Based on preliminary data, March is likely to be the first month since 2024 in which all hotel classes record RevPAR growth. Luxury hotels continued to lead the group, with RevPAR increasing 12.2% last week. Economy hotels posted increases in RevPAR, ADR and occupancy for the first time in more than a year. With hurricane‑related headwinds continuing to fade, economy hotels are on pace to achieve their first positive RevPAR month since March 2025.
Several major markets stood out as drivers of last week’s performance. San Francisco experienced a near “Super Bowl”‑sized lift, supported by the combination of the RSA Cybersecurity Conference and the West Regional Sweet 16 round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. RevPAR in San Francisco increased 121.1%, driven by a 74.8% gain in ADR and a 17.5‑percentage‑point increase in occupancy. The more than 40,000‑person cybersecurity conference was moved up from late April last year and contributed to a 124% increase in group demand. In addition, San Jose hosted third‑round March Madness games over the weekend, supporting elevated hotel performance across the broader Bay Area.
Las Vegas was another of the eight Top 25 markets to record RevPAR growth of more than 20%, with RevPAR increasing 27.7% for the week. After a down year in 2025, the market closed out March with four consecutive weeks of RevPAR growth, driven by a combination of conference‑related group demand and increased transient demand tied to March Madness.
Other top 25 markets also finished March on a strong note. Denver recorded a 48.5% increase in RevPAR, supported by multiple medical conferences held throughout the week, and trailed only San Francisco in group demand growth among luxury and upper‑upscale hotels. San Diego posted the strongest group demand growth of any market for the full month of March, with group rooms sold increasing 36.4% last week.
Global RevPAR declines
Global hotel RevPAR, on a same-store and constant USD basis excluding the U.S., declined 0.9% under the strain of the war in Iran-affected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where RevPAR dropped 67.9%. Without the GCC, global RevPAR was up 7%, the largest increase of the past five weeks. Canada, France, Italy, Japan, and Spain all saw RevPAR growth of more than 10% with Italy up 21%. Besides GCC, the only other major countries to see RevPAR retreat were Germany and Mexico.
Demand in Mexico continued its downward slide, with this week’s decrease (8.3%) the largest of the past five weeks. Pacific Central, which contains Acapulco, Guadalajara, and Puerto Vallarta – the location of the recent cartel violence – saw the largest demand decrease (-20.3%) followed by Baja California (-13.2%). Monterrey, Mexico Central South, Pacific South, and Yucatan/Campeche were the only markets to see growth this week.
The RevPAR weakness in Germany (-3.5%) can be traced to Cologne, where RevPAR fell 63.6%, on a 57.8% ADR decline. Occupancy was also down. Excluding Cologne, Germany’s RevPAR was up a modest 1.2%. Strong RevPAR gains were seen in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart where RevPAR grew by double-digit amounts.
Canada continued its streak of RevPAR growth, up 13.6% this week, surpassing last week’s gain (+11%). The country has seen growth in all 13 weeks this year.
Isaac Collazo is senior director of analytics at STR. Cole Martin is an analytics and insights specialist at STR.