CoStar and Tourism Economics have raised their 2026-27 U.S. hotel outlook due to "stronger leisure and business travel" than originally anticipated.
The duo lifted RevPAR (revenue per available room) by 1.6 percentage points and ADR (average daily rate) by 1.1 ppts at the 18th Annual Hotel Data Conference.
As a result, year-over-year 2026 U.S. RevPAR growth is estimated to be 4.4% up from a 2.8% projection as recently as early June. Meanwhile, ADR is projected to increase 3.1% year over year.
Occupancy was lifted to 63.1%, which is just a 0.3 ppt rise from the previous forecast.
STR President Amanda Hite stated that "the hotel industry sold a record number of room nights in the first half of the year, an increase of 11.4 million compared with 2025, while room revenue climbed by more than $5.4 billion."
"The industry outperformed our expectations on stronger leisure and business travel, fueled in part by the World Cup and America 250 celebrations. In the next six months, we expect slightly lower gains than in the first half of the year, but top-line growth will still be driven by ADR," Hite added in a statement.
"We also expect to see a stronger 2027 than what we initially projected in our past forecasts, although there will be some mid-year weakness due to difficult year-over-year comparisons," she said.
"We expect travel activity to continue to grow as we move into next year. Stable labor markets, recent wealth gains, and easing inflation should keep consumer spending resilient, while business investment is broadening beyond AI-related projects and group travel continues to recover," Hite added. "International visitation should see modest improvement, though prolonged US-Canada trade tensions remain a headwind to watch."
Experts also forecast GOPPAR (gross operating profit per available room) to rise 4% this year and another 1% next year.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
