As 2022 progresses , the travel outlook remains generally positive . The industry has rebounded more quickly than initially anticipated , although it has evolved differently than expected . With a significant increase in leisure travel , longer lengths of stay , and more shoulder night stays on Sunday and Thursday , the past reliance on higher-rated commercial transient and group business may be permanently altered . Additionally , average daily rate has rebounded and continues healthy growth . Leisure demand especially is driving the overall ADR performance across the U . S ., although recovery and performance varies widely by market type and chain scale .
Markets defined as Resort / Destination are benefitting from the surge in leisure travel , as are most other markets , except for Large Metropolitan Areas . The chain scales that continue to lag in recovery are those we find most commonly in Large Metropolitan Areas : Luxury and Upper Upscale .
Thursday is the new Friday
With more and more people able to work from anywhere , the industry is continuing to experience an increase in Thursday through Sunday stays , leading to an increase in Guest Paid RevPAR contribution for leisure segments on these days of the week , while remaining relatively flat Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday nights vs . 2019 . In comparison , commercial Guest Paid RevPAR contribution decreased all seven days of the week in the second half of 2021 vs . 2019 .
Leisure Remains a Gift in the Present
Through March 2022 , commercial Guest Paid RevPAR contribution still lags the same period in 2019 by more than -15 %, while leisure is up + 1 %, driven primarily by strong Guest Paid ADR , up + 8.7 % for leisure . Given the historic high ADRs the industry witnessed in 2019 , this surge in Guest Paid ADR from leisure is truly remarkable , especially since it is happening throughout the week and across all markets and submarket types .
However , this shift in business will continue to have an impact on staffing , especially in guest-facing positions like housekeeping and front desk . An important factor to consider in evaluating the costs and benefits of these shifts is to consider the cost of labor .
Hotel Effectiveness , a company tracking hotel labor statistics for more than 5,000 hotels and 250,000 U . S . -based hotel associates , reports that “ upscale , city-center hotels have doubled employment levels since the Omicron surge , with the labor index ( vs . pre- COVID ).”
The Trends That Will Continue to Shape the Future
The shift in overall business mix to heavily leisure vs . commercial transient or group may persist for the next few years . How is your team working with these four trends now ? How will they in the future ?
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