Hotels in British Columbia record highest occupancy in March among provinces and among the major markets, Vancouver saw the highest occupancy, which was a 12% decline from 2019. 

March 2022 (percentage change from March 2019)

• Occupancy: 53.3% (-11.2%)
• Average daily rate (ADR): CAD149.73 (+0.7%)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): CAD79.87 (-10.5%)

“Hotel performance improved significantly with the elimination of nearly all COVID-related restrictions across the country,” said Laura Baxter, CoStar Group’s director of hospitality analytics for Canada. CoStar Group is the parent company of STR.

“The absolute occupancy level was the highest for any month since September 2021, with the index to 2019 reaching a pandemic-era high at 89,” Baxter said. “In addition, the lack of gathering restrictions allowed group demand to reach its highest level since February 2020, which bodes well for the outlook near-term. We typically see group travel rise until June before being replaced by transient leisure demand over the summer.

“While room rates surpassed 2019 levels ever so slightly in March, the momentum has continued into April, with rates currently $2 ahead of the pre-pandemic comparable. Similarly, RevPAR in all location types, excluding urban and airport hotels, exceeded 2019 comparables in March. While urban and airport hotels are lagging in overall RevPAR, weekend levels returned to what was seen pre-pandemic, showing continued strength from the leisure segment. Weekday performance remains under the microscope for many hoteliers, but there have been green shoots in the data. The weekday RevPAR index, which can be used as a proxy for the return of the corporate segment at this time of year, showed significant improvement in March. However, leisure demand during the March break will have likely inflated the index slightly, so April’s results will be a better gauge of metric.

Among the provinces and territories, British Columbia recorded the highest March occupancy level (63.2%), which was 4.6% below the pre-pandemic comparable.

Among the major markets, Vancouver saw the highest occupancy (65.7%), which was a 12.0% decline from 2019.

The lowest occupancy among provinces was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (36.5%), down 16.4% against 2019. At the market level, the lowest occupancy was reported in Ottawa (-29.8% to 43.4%).

“The outlook for the rest of the year is positive, especially now that testing requirements at the border have been lifted and international arrivals are expected to gradually increase,” Baxter said. “Occupancy is currently forecasted to reach 57%, while ADR is expected to come in at $158 for full-year 2022. The longer-term position remains relatively consistent with previous versions of the forecast. RevPAR is expected to come within $2 of pre-pandemic results next year and exceed 2019 levels in 2024 in nominal terms. However, when adjusted for inflation, it extends the full recovery position beyond 2025.”

India hotel occupancy and ADR top pre-pandemic levels in mid-April

Amid continued recovery from the Omicron wave, India’s hotel industry eclipsed pre-pandemic comparables in occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) for three consecutive days during the second week of April, according to preliminary data from STR.

The three days (16-18) were the first of 2022 with both occupancy and ADR above 2019 levels in India. When using a running 7-day average, occupancy and ADR have been above 90% of pre-pandemic comparables since late-March.

On Monday, 18 April, India recorded its highest ADR index of the year at 106% of the 2019 comparable. Occupancy surpassed pre-pandemic levels earlier in the year, reaching as high as 109% of the corresponding 2019 level on 25 March.

“With the Omicron wave behind us, traveler confidence has grown significantly, and leisure destinations have continued their momentum from the prior months,” said Matthew Burke, STR’s Regional Director – Pacific, Japan & Central South Asia. “Select leisure markets such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand have seen significant occupancy levels throughout 2022, most times exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Business demand, which was limited after the Delta wave, has shown significant improvement post-Omicron with momentum continuing through April. While there have been early signs of increased COVID cases across some India markets, the country’s hotels have shown resilience thus far. Recovery from each wave has been better than the previous, and we expect that trend to continue.”

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit www.str.com