Revenues were up in April at Greater Boston hotels.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
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Bay State hotels reported improved operating results for April despite the Boston Marathon bombing, according to the latest PKF Consulting survey.
The 93 hotel operators in the PKF Trends in the Hotel Industry sample for the region achieved an average 78.5 percent occupancy at a $198.88 average daily rate (ADR) with a resulting $156.11 revenue per available room (RevPAR). These performance levels represented an occupancy decrease of 0.3 percent, a 4 percent increase in ADR, and an overall 3.6 percent rise in RevPAR compared to April 2012.
Much like city of Boston, the lodging industry was affected by the Marathon bombings, the report said. Hotels near the bombing site were the most affected. One hotel manager told researchers, “Our property lost well over $100,000 in projected revenue during the week of the bombings.” But properties away from Copley Square saw a steep increase in transient demand immediately following the blast. Another manager reported, “Our property saw an immediate uptick in demand. Guest staying near the blast sight showed up to our hotel with just the clothes on their back.”
While hotel managers reported seeing cancellations and a decrease in demand compared to a year ago, many said they believed hotels returned to their previous levels just two weeks after the bombing, PKF said.
For April 2013, RevPAR increases were primarily driven by growth in occupancy for the Back Bay submarket. Conversely, the downtown, Cambridge, Route 128 and I-495 South submarket saw RevPAR gains primarily driven by ADR growth.
The largest increase in RevPAR was experienced by the Route 495 North submarket as it achieved both occupancy and ADR growth at 7.4 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. The highest occupancy for April 2013 was achieved in the Downtown submarket at 86.3 percent.
Compared to previous Aprils over the last eight years, April 2013 performance for the Greater Boston area hotels was higher in occupancy than 2009, 2010 and 2011, highest ADR in all eight years, and highest RevPAR since 2007.
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