First-quarter corporate demand down by 2.4 percent, according to TravelClick data

February 07, 2013 | Hotel Marketing

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When looking at Q1 2013 through Q4 2013, the current outlook is for moderate growth, with continued improvement in average daily rate being the key driver. Breaking transient down further into business and leisure, business demand is down 2.4 percent while leisure is up 5.3 percent for the first quarter.

Hotels continue to see a steady increase in occupancy and revenue performance, according to data from the January 2013 TravelClick North American Hospitality Review (NAHR). When looking at Q1 2013 through Q4 2013, the current outlook is for moderate growth, with continued improvement in average daily rate (ADR) being the key driver.

“Based on TravelClick data, ADR continues to be the main source of RevPAR growth heading into 2013,” said Tim Hart, executive vice president, enterprise research and development, TravelClick. “While both ADR and occupancy are growing – occupancy is improving more slowly while ADR is increasing at a slightly more rapid pace.”

12 Month Outlook (January 2013- December 2013)

Committed occupancy across all segments, for January 2013 through December 2013, is up 2.0 percent compared to a year ago. Based on reservations currently on the books, ADR is up 4.9 percent, compared to the same time last year. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is up 4.1 percent.

Group sales are the driving force behind occupancy growth in 2013, up 2.2 percent. At this time, it appears that group occupancy is showing the strongest gains in the second and third quarters. The transient segment – made up of individual business and leisure travelers, which has been responsible for the majority of hotel sector growth in the past is up 1.2 percent overall. Business demand, which includes weekday transient negotiated and transient retail segments, is down 2.5 percent while leisure demand, which includes transient discount, transient qualified segments and transient wholesale, is up 3.9 percent.

Group ADR is up 2.8 percent and transient segment ADR is up 6.1 percent compared to last year. Business and leisure rates are up 7.1 and 5.8 percent respectively.

First Quarter (January 2013- March 2013)

For the first quarter of 2013 committed occupancy is up 1.4 percent and ADR is up 4.9 percent.

Group committed occupancy for the first quarter of 2013 is up 1.0 percent while transient is up 1.9 percent. Breaking transient down further into business and leisure, business demand is down 2.4 percent while leisure is up 5.3 percent for the first quarter.

ADR is up 4.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the same time last year. This increase is driven by the transient segment which is up 6.4 percent. Business and leisure rates are up 7.3 and 6.1 percent, respectively. Group segment ADR is up 2.6 percent.

Based on TravelClick’s forward-looking data, February looks to be the strongest month of the quarter with occupancy currently up 4.7 percent and revenue per available room (RevPAR) up 8.0 percent, based on current reservations.

“Transient business segment bookings for the first quarter are starting slow. It has been some time since we have seen a year-over-year decline in business segment demand,” Hart continued. “However, while there is slightly less business travel taking place, ADR remains strong, indicating the hotels are holding their price position.”

The January NAHR looks at group sales commitments and individual reservations in the 25 major North American markets for hotel stays that are booked by January 6, 2013 for the period of January 2013 to December 2013.