Canada hotels record first occupancy decline in three months

July 2024 (percentage change from 2023):

• Occupancy: 75.2 per cent (-0.4 per cent)
• Average daily rate (ADR): CAD236.12 (+1.1 per cent)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): CAD177.62 (+0.7 per cent)

“Occupancy dipped marginally in July after a three-month growth run,” said Laura Baxter, CoStar Group’s director of hospitality analytics for Canada.

“Though most segments grew year over year, group occupancy continued to decline, down 8.5 per cent, which was the steepest drop since March. A contraction in transient room rates, due to a lower group base combined with shorter booking windows, contributed to slower ADR growth as well.

Among the provinces and territories, Prince Edward Island recorded the highest occupancy level (81.2 per cent), which was 1.2 per cent above 2023.

Among the major markets, Vancouver saw the highest occupancy (85.7 per cent), down 1.4 per cent over July 2023.

The lowest occupancy among provinces was reported in Saskatchewan (63.4 per cent), up 0.2 per cent against 2023.

At the market level, the lowest occupancy was reported in Edmonton (+3.7 per cent to 61.0 per cent).

“We recently upgraded our 2024 ADR forecast for Canada, which keeps RevPAR comparisons in positive territory as well. Occupancy, however, is projected to decline marginally due to mild weakness in the broader economy. We expect interest rate cuts to continue through year-end and into 2025, which should gradually provide relief to borrowers, setting the stage for improved economic growth and consumer spending by 2025. If that is the case, we currently expect occupancy to return to a 1.2 per cent growth in 2025.”

Additional Performance Data

CoStar’s world-leading hotel performance sample comprises 85,000 properties and 11 million rooms around the globe.