Is it just us, or does it feel like the “recovery switch” has just flipped on?
Leisure bookings have accelerated dramatically over the past several weeks, including near-term bookings and those stretching out over 30 to 60 days, says Jon Bortz of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in this Hotel News Now piece.
“We think it will be the strongest leisure transient summer ever in the industry, and that’s based upon all the pent-up demand, people getting vaccinated and immediately booking vacations and travel,” he says.
“Just as quickly as the pandemic led to widespread closures and cancellations beginning in March 2020, we are seeing signs of an equally robust recovery, with 2021 expected to show the strongest growth rates for all key indicators in the 30-year history of STR,” writes Jan Freitag of STR in this Hotel News Now piece. Freitag outlines what is going right:
- Vaccinations are here
- Savings are at an all-time high
- Consumer sentiment is positive
- Unemployment continues to drop
The great American family road trip is back and stronger than ever, according to a Skift report today. “Newly released data from location intelligence provider Arrivalist’s Daily Travel Index, which tracks American road trips, shows that for the first time since the pandemic, road trip vacations have surpassed 2019 levels,” according to the report.
“As COVID cases drop and vaccine rollouts continue successfully across most of the world, we finally start to see some real signs of positivity within the hotel industry. Latin America in particular is enjoying some strong glimmers of hope, where data is suggesting that June and July 2021 could actually outperform June and July 2019,” according to the latest Duetto Pulse Report.
March U.S. group meetings volume increased 42.5% over February, according to new data from Knowland cited in Hospitality Net.
- Average number of attendees in March 2021 was 61 compared to 131 in March 2020.
- Average space used in March 2021 was 2,512 square feet, while meetings in March 2020 averaged 2,104 square feet.
- Corporate meetings produced most of the activity, accounting for 60.7% of total meetings for the month.
Read full article here: https://www.costar.com/article/506858559