Canada’s August occupancy hit its highest levels since before the pandemic, according to hospitality analytics firm STR. That figure was 77.4 percent, up 1.4 percent year over year and the country’s peak since August 2019. Average daily rate and revenue per available room continued to increase at an “elevated level,” with ADR up 5.8 percent year over year to C$226.04 (US$166.80) and RevPAR up 7.2 percent to C$174.87 (US$129.04).
But metrics are beginning to stabilize, the research firm added.
“Demand patterns across the segments are starting to normalize,” according to a statement from Laura Baxter, Canada director of hospitality analytics for STR parent company CoStar Group. “Both transient and weekend occupancies have been gradually returning closer to 2019 levels over the course of this year.”
Canada’s patterns echo what STR reported last month for the United States. Both U.S. ADR and RevPAR increased in August year over year, but at more moderate levels than its northern neighbor. STR president Amanda Hite said the firm expected an upcoming “period of normalization” in terms of leisure and business travel patterns for the U.S. market.
Subsequently, STR’s most recent U.S. forecast reflects a slight downgrade in its performance expectations—specifically, projected 2023 occupancy of 63.1 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than its previous forecast, and 2023 RevPAR projected to increase 4.5 percent year over year, compared with 5 percent in the prior forecast.
