Canada hotels record highest occupancy since 2018

August 2024 (percentage change from 2023):

• Occupancy: 79.7 per cent (+3.1 per cent)
• Average daily rate (ADR): CAD235.85 (+3.6 per cent)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): CAD187.93 (+6.8 per cent)

“After occupancy contracted marginally in July, the metric returned to a level normally seen prior to the pandemic,” says Laura Baxter, CoStar Group’s director of hospitality analytics for Canada.

“Weakness in the broader economy and less discretionary income from domestic vacationers have been negatively impacting hotel performance, but year-over-year growth in occupancy and ADR was a welcomed break from this trend.

“Group demand contracted for the fourth consecutive month, but the segment’s room rates grew 6.2 per cent. Transient ADR increased 2.7 per cent despite the lower group base and hoteliers continuing to report a shorter booking window. Overall, Canada’s room rates exceeded the 2 per cent inflation reading reported by Statistics Canada.”

Among the provinces and territories, Nova Scotia recorded the highest occupancy level (89.6 per cent), which was 4.2 per cent above 2023.

Among the major markets, Vancouver saw the highest occupancy (87.6 per cent), up 1.0 per cent over August 2023.

The lowest occupancy among provinces was reported in Saskatchewan (66.6 per cent), up 3.0 per cent against 2023.

At the market level, the lowest occupancy was reported in Edmonton (+7.1 per cent to 71.6 per cent).