The collective hotel industry is facing a cold, hard truth: attaining the same level of pre-pandemic operational performance will not be measured in days, but months, even years. That's what August data from HotStats portends and at a crossroads, as summer gives way to fall and a host of new variables come into play that could derail the modest success the past several months have demonstrated.
In the U.S., profit continues to lag its 2019 form, with GOPPAR recorded at $52.27 in August, 31% lower than it was in August 2019. However, in a business that changes block to block, there is some good news, with some pockets surpassing expectations. Up to now, profit has been a mix of cost containment with support from leisure business and some destinations in the U.S. are pushing out revenue and profit that is higher now than it was in 2019. Consider Key West, Fla., where in August 2021, total hotel revenue exceeded the same period in 2019 by 28%, while GOPPAR was up 65%.