Reeling from the impact of new supply, seasonality, civil unrest, and a global pandemic, Minneapolis-St. Paul hotels faced a staggering RevPAR drop in 2020, worse than most cities in the United States. While the greater metro-area hotel market has begun to bounce back, it is at a much a slower pace than the national rebound. What has the recovery looked like thus far? When will the market return to pre-pandemic levels?
Bend’s strategic location as a drive-to destination in Central Oregon, within driving distance of Crater Lake National Park, Smith Rock State Park, and Deschutes National Forest, made it a bright light during the pandemic and contributed to the local lodging market’s resiliency.
The NYU Investment Conference arrived five months late this year, but it was worth the wait. The event attracted over 1,000 registered participants eager to hear from a stellar lineup of the global industry’s top leaders and influencers, and it kicked off in a bustling Times Square on the same day U.S. airports reopened to fully vaccinated international travelers.
Given the significant traction in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines throughout the United States and general international travel restrictions, leisure travel has begun to recover in 2021 and is expected to continue increasing, with Americans seeking so-called “revenge travel” to a domestic getaway. Business travel is also beginning to show signs of recovery, and some group business related to conference attendance is returning.
The Raleigh market achieved historically high levels of economic activity and visitation in 2019. However, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the market suffered significant declines in business activity and hotel demand, similar to most metropolitan areas across the country. How did Raleigh sustain through the height of the pandemic? What is the market experiencing as it emerges from the pandemic, and what does the future look like for this state capital?
Like elsewhere, the United States’ restaurant sector has had a tough time responding to the seemingly endless challenges posed by COVID-19. However, interesting trends are emerging.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought Boston’s hotel market to its knees. How far has the Boston hotel market fallen? How does this compare to other major metropolitan areas? What will the recovery look like?
The concept of sustainability has been around for decades, popularized by the First World Climate Conference in 1979, the inception of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, and the publication of Vice President Al Gore’s book about climate change (An Inconvenient Truth) in 2006. While other building types were early to adopt this concept, hospitality seemed slow to embrace green building design. Today, hospitality design is making noticeable changes to catch up.
Cincinnati experienced a banner year in 2019, with hotel performance reaching peak levels given the diverse base of lodging demand sources. However, since early March 2020, Cincinnati-area hotels have suffered unprecedented declines in demand, similar to most cities in the United States, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, lodging performance has improved in recent months, and significant investments throughout the region are forming a good foundation for market recovery.
Over the past year, the Albuquerque and New Mexico market have suffered unprecedented declines in demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These declines have been driven by more restrictive state-imposed limitations on travel and business operations, especially for hotels. As the state begins to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions, we examine the recovery outlook.