HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — Canada’s hotel industry reported continued lows across the three key performance metrics in January 2021, according to STR data.
The country’s occupancy level was up slightly from December, but was its second-lowest since May 2020. As a result, RevPAR came in lower than any month in Canada since May. Year-over-year declines also remained significant, with occupancy falling 55.2 per cent to 22.3 per cent, Average Daily Rate (ADR) dropping to $107.21 (down 27.4 per cent) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) coming in at $23.96 (down 67.5 per cent).
“International travel has been severely depressed since the beginning of the pandemic and the negative effect on hotel demand has been especially pronounced in Canada’s urban markets,” says Laura Baxter, director of Hospitality Analytics for Canada at CoStar Group — STR’s parent company. “With tighter travel restrictions implemented in Canada, requiring a COVID-19 test and 14-day quarantine for arrivals, we can expect to see a further impact on the country’s hotel performance. Not all markets will be impacted equally, with the mandatory three-day hotel stay upon arrival likely to induce some room demand at government-approved hotels in the largest airport markets — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. However, we are likely to see demand drop at smaller international airports. In the near-term, the negative impact on hotels will only be exacerbated by Canada’s suspension of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until the end of April. Domestic room demand is unlikely to offset much of the loss at this time. If the lockdown measures allow for it, more domestic room demand is expected in the summer months, but is hinged upon progress being made toward containment of the virus.”
Among the provinces and territories, New Brunswick recorded the lowest occupancy level in January (12.7 per cent), which was down 68.3 per cent in year-over-year comparisons. The province also experienced the lowest RevPAR level (a 75.3-per-cent drop to $11.48).
Among the major markets, Montreal saw the lowest occupancy level (13 per cent), down 74.9 per cent year over year.
The highest occupancy among provinces was reported in British Columbia (down 47.6 per cent to 28.5 per cent). At the market level, the highest occupancy was reported in Vancouver, down 57.9 per cent to 26.9 per cent.
