With Memorial Day marking the unofficial start to summer, TSA screening volume on May 23 was the third highest for any day in history.
For the week of May 18 through May 24, U.S. hotels produced steady revenue-per-available-room growth of 1.1% as average daily rate advanced 1.5% and occupancy decreased 0.3 percentage points. The Friday and Saturday ahead of Memorial Day produced normal demand levels for the holiday weekend, reflecting a steadfast consumer with an appetite for travel.
The number of rooms sold for the Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend was the third highest on record and less than 1% behind 2022 and 2019.
Occupancy came in at 76.4%, just 0.4 percentage points behind last year and 0.1 behind 2023.
ADR growth was also similar to the last two Memorial Day weekends — up 0.1% this year, compared to a 0.2% increase in 2024 year over year and 0.1% increase in 2023.
The start of the week was lifted by the top 25 markets with RevPAR up an average of 3% Monday through Thursday. That growth was driven entirely by ADR. Several top 25 markets hosted large conferences at the beginning of the week, led by San Francisco, where RevPAR advanced 24.3%.
Markets outside the top 25 saw their greatest growth during the weekend.
Luxury on top again
Luxury hotels dominated performance across the chains scales with RevPAR rising 6.8%, driven primarily by ADR. Upper upscale and upscale hotel followed at more subdued levels, just under 2.0%. Upper midscale hotels posted flat RevPAR, and economy declined 2.5%.
Global performance remained healthy
Global RevPAR, excluding the U.S., increased 7.4% with Japan leading the charge. Germany saw the next highest growth, with triple-digit RevPAR gains in Dusseldorf and Cologne. France and Mexico also saw healthy gains.
Looking ahead
A full summary of Memorial Day weekend will be available in next week’s data; however, the respectable performance on Friday and Saturday, as well as 0.5% year-over-year growth in TSA numbers this past week, points to a good result.
Looking further into June, advance bookings in the U.S. are up from last year in aggregate, while July and August are seeing some softness — likely due to shorter booking windows.
The start of summer break is slightly later for students this year, which could push back some leisure travel.
Outside the U.S., performance should remain up as summer holidays commence across much of the world.
Isaac Collazo is senior director of analytics at STR. Chris Klauda is director of market insights at STR.
This article represents an interpretation of data collected by CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, STR. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concerns. For more analysis of STR data, visit the data insights blog on STR.com.