Hotel Industry: 7/05-7/11

Hotel Weekly Update

Nationally, hotel occupancy was down 38% compared to 2019 this week. Atlanta was 5th out of the 25 biggest lodging markets in the US for the least occupancy rate declines (-37.8%), down from last week’s ranking of 4th out of 25.

Small town & interstate hotels continue to have the least occupancy declines as well as the highest occupancy percentages in 2020. Resort hotels have faired better than urban and airport hotels due to leisure travel picking back up.

Source: STR

Week of July 5th Winners & Losers

Occupancy rates continue to recover as declines have reached <15% for economy hotels and <50% for upscale hotels for the first time. As more quarantine has continued, many hotel guests are choosing to take more local staycations in lower populated areas. This has resulted in ~25% occupancy declines for hotels located in small towns and along interstates. Midscale hotel brands have seen a large improvement in occupancy rates as the overall rate declines have reached ~27% vs. ~50% declines in the beginning of May.

Top 6 Performing Cities by change in occupancy

City	2020 Occupancy	2019 Occupancy	% Change
Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA	60.4%	78.2%	-22.8%
Detroit, MI	54.9%	72.4%	-24.2%
Phoenix, AZ	42.4%	59.9%	-29.2%
Tampa/St Petersburg, FL	46.9%	70.6%	-33.7%
Atlanta, GA	50.1%	80.5%	-37.8%
Philadelphia, PA-NJ	46.6%	77.4%	-39.9%

Worst 6 Performing Cities by change in occupancy

City	2020 Occupancy	2019 Occupancy	% Change
Oahu Island, HI	19.1%	89.0%	-78.5%
Boston, MA	28.6%	84.6%	-66.2%
Orlando, FL	28.9%	76.4%	-62.2%
Seattle, WA	32.4%	84.9%	-61.9%
Miami/Hialeah, FL	30.4%	75.0%	-59.5%
New York, NY	37.0%	89.1%	-58.5%

Source: STR

Atlanta Hotel Updates

After closing temporarily in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, metro Atlanta’s major museums and other similar venues started to reopen in June and July. The Atlanta History Center in Buckhead reopened its 33-acre Goizueta Gardens June 15 and its indoor exhibitions on July 3. Clare Haley, a center spokeswoman, said it is seeing less than half of the normal amount of visitors so far this summer. “The lower numbers are mostly local visitors and members,” she said. “Many of our usual summertime visitors are group tours and other tourists, which we are understandably not seeing due to the pandemic. The lower numbers actually make it easier to maintain our capacity limitations and other safety protocols.”

Many local Atlanta attractions that bring in hotel guests have continued to see a lower volume of out of state travelers. This in turn has led to many hotels trying to find new ways to change their business models to fill up rooms. Traditionally, an upscale, upper-upscale, or luxury hotel that lowers room prices would result in more occupancy at the cost of lower guest quality. Lower quality guests at these hotels result in more damages to the room, increased cleanup time of facilities, and less food/beverage sales at the hotel’s bar/restaurant. To make up for guest quality reductions, some Atlanta hotels like the Sheraton agreed to house military recruits for a 14-day quarantine before they head off to boot camp at Parris Island. Many hotels are seeking new ways to secure high quality and high group count guests with agreements they typically would have not signed in the past.

Atlanta Hotel & Venue Reopening’s:

• High Museum of Art reopened for members and front-line workers July 7 and will open for the public on July 18.
• Center for Puppetry Arts, reopened July 10
• Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame reopened July 1
• Children’s Museum of Atlanta reopened to members June 26 and the public July 1
• The Douglas County Museum of History and Art reopened July 7 and requires visitors to wear masks, its website stated.

Major Recurring Events Cancelled/Postponed this week:

• Canceled: Atlanta Field Day, July 11, 2020
• The Museum of Design Atlanta is still closed
• Margaret Mitchell House is still closed
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights remains temporarily closed
• Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park remains temporarily closed
• Delta Flight Museum has remained temporarily closed since mid-March

Week Of July 5th Hotel Report: Good And Bad News

Good News

More hotels have started to open their doors and shift business model strategies

Governor Kemp signed an executive order stating music venues can reopen starting July 1st

Bad News

Atlanta’s Mayor tests positive for COVID-19. More local and state leaders on Monday embraced new restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus as the United States entered its 28th day reporting record-high average infections.

City Winery is closing temporarily at Ponce City Market