Va. hotel revenues drop again

Revenues declined by 48% when compared to same week last year

Published September 17, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Following a small improvement associated with the Labor Day holiday weekend, Virginia hotels saw a steep decline in revenues last week, according to data from STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. 

For the week of Sept. 6 through Sept. 13, hotel revenues decreased by 48% and rooms sold declined by 33% compared to the same week last year — a decline from the previous week, which saw a 23% decline in revenue and 16% decrease in rooms sold. Compared to last year, the average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms dropped 23% to $90.28, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell to $41.81, a 48% decline.

Hotel revenues and rooms sold declined in most markets in Virginia, compared with the same time frame last year. Compared to the same week in 2019, revenues fell 72% in Northern Virginia, 53% in Charlottesville, and 12% in Hampton Roads. During the week of Aug. 30 through Sept. 5, revenues fell 45% in Northern Virginia, 23% in Charlottesville and increased by 3% in Hampton Roads. The number of rooms sold in Northern Virginia is down by 54%, Charlottesville is down by 36% and Hampton Roads is down by 12%. 

Statistics show that Hampton Roads continues to fare well when compared nationally. It has had the highest occupancy rate among the top 25 markets in the nation since the week ending June 27. However, RevPAR in Hampton Roads was in fourth place at $58.35 behind San Diego, Los Angeles and Anaheim. Williamsburg continues to be the hardest-hit, though, seeing a 42% decline in revenue last week, followed by Norfolk/Portsmouth at a 24% decline and Newport News/Hampton at a 21% decline.

“Performance of the hotels in Hampton Roads during last week was in general better than the current week,” Professor Vinod Agarwal of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy said in a statement. “One of the main reasons is the timing of the Labor Day weekend. Friday and Saturday of the Labor Day weekend in 2020 were observed during last week whereas only Sunday of the Labor Day weekend fell during the comparable week in 2019. Hotels typically have a much higher occupancy on Saturdays of the long weekends during summer.”  

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