Beware the ides of March. But for the global hotel industry, the month was anything but a tragedy.
First-quarter hotel performance ended strong with March profit surging across most global regions, a sign of stronger revenues, better conversion rates and new worries over a COVID upsurge not discouraging would-be travelers.
European GOPPAR hit €35.97, the highest the number has reached since it peaked in October 2021, though still around €12 lower than March 2019. After GOPPAR dropped into negative territory in January, it’s now up 229% YTD compared to the same time in 2021.
Feeding into the increase in GOPPAR was a concurrent lift in both RevPAR and TRevPAR, with both metrics up high triple-digit percentages in March versus the same month last year. Though occupancies crept up, it was average daily rate that boosted hotelier fortunes. ADR across Europe was at its highest level since September 2019, with March ADR €25 euros higher than at the same time in 2019.
On the other side of the ledger, expenses saw a bit of a reduction in March, but overall costs are proving recalcitrant. Total labour on a per-available-room basis was still below 2019 levels but up significantly YTD since last year—143%. At the same, other departmental costs are not abating, including utilities, which, at €7.50 on a PAR basis, were up 107% in Q1 versus the same time last year. They are also significantly higher than at any time pre-pandemic.