“Manhattan hotels are finally experiencing a sustaining recovery,” said Warren Marr, managing director, PwC. “While RevPAR was still down 11.7% in 1H 2022 from the same period in 2019, it was a significant improvement from a year ago, when RevPAR during 1H was down 57.2% from the same period in 2019. The lifting of COVID-19 pre-departure testing is expected to positively impact inbound international travel for the second half of this year in Manhattan.”
Q2 occupancy and ADR surged as both group and summer leisure travel began to re-emerge and pandemic-related travel restrictions were softened. YOY increases in occupancy were highest in April—up 70.3%. With overall occupancy for the quarter at 81.3% and ADR at $314.54, Manhattan RevPAR more than doubled from $95.81 in Q2 2021 to $255.61 in Q2.
Of the four market classes tracked, upper-upscale properties exhibited the most notable year-over-year increase in RevPAR—up 201.5% for the quarter, driven by an 84.3% increase in occupancy from 43.1% in 2021 to 79.5%, and a 63.6% increase in ADR from $185.13 to $302.80. For upscale properties, occupancy grew by 45.7% and ADR experienced an increase of 86.8%, resulting in a YOY RevPAR increase of 172.2%.
Luxury and upper-midscale properties posted lower, but still significant increases in RevPAR of 105.9% and 130.3%, respectively. With the luxury segment posting the lowest increase in ADR (up 16.4%), and the upper-midscale segment posting the lowest increase in occupancy (up 32.1%), RevPAR finished the quarter at $432.75 and $185.62, respectively.
Of the five Manhattan neighborhoods, Midtown East had the largest increase in RevPAR, up 234.4%, driven in large part by a 92.4% increase in occupancy YOY. Midtown West RevPAR grew by 193.0%, largely driven by an 82.6% increase in ADR. Lower Manhattan and Midtown South posted RevPAR increases of 147.1% and 162.7%, respectively. Upper Manhattan had the smallest increase in RevPAR, still up a significant 90.4%.
During the second quarter, occupancy at full-service hotels increased at almost twice the rate of limited-service hotels, with YOY increases in occupancy of 63.4% and 34.3%, respectively. RevPAR increased 171.9% for full-service properties, while limited-service hotels saw an increase of 141.8% over the same period.
For chain-affiliated and independent hotels, second-quarter RevPAR grew by 180.9% and 144.3%, respectively. The improvement in chain-affiliated hotels was primarily driven by a stronger increase in ADR, up 83.1%.
Tags: Manhattan Lodging Index, PwC, Warren Marr
