Behind 10 consecutive weeks of RevPAR growth and 15 consecutive weeks of average rate growth, the hotel industry is showing strength, particularly in group business and in small cities taking advantage of convention centers rebuilds and expansions in large markets. Summer is exceeding expectations and 2.8% RevPAR growth is forecast for the rest of 2026. ALHI President and CEO Michael Dominguez says we should all be feeling good about the industry.
Michael Dominguez: Hi, welcome to this edition of Connecting the Dots. I am super excited to be talking right now in mid-June about our industry and the strength of our industry and what we've seen.
We've continued the momentum we saw at the first quarter, which was a record first quarter, and we're continuing to see 10 consecutive weeks of RevPAR growth and 15 consecutive weeks of average rate growth. The strength is there. We're seeing it in the small cities. Group is strong. That is where the small cities are picking up right now, specifically with some of the convention centers being shut down for renovation. But overall, we're seeing strength in the market.
It's interesting because as I continue to present in the industry, the one thing I keep mentioning to people is we're walking around with a little bit of a malaise and things are actually really pretty good right now.
We just saw some reporting from SightMinder and what that looks like for the summer. The summer right now on the books is exceeding expectations. We're up in literally room nights by 4.7%. We're up in rate by 8% from now through this September, and most surprisingly, September is showing the most strength as far as what is on the books for travel. Americans are staying home this summer. We're definitely seeing things with FIFA and a little bit of that pickup with World Cup. We're going to talk about that in another edition.
But overall, we're doing well. CoStar just released their latest forecast for the year and it is now looking at 2.8% RevPAR growth, which is a tremendous increase from where we started the year. We should be feeling good. Doesn't mean we don't have headwinds. But overall, things are good for our industry.
Read more Connecting the Dots with Michael Dominguez.