Global hotel reservation service TravelClick released its latest North American Hospitality Review figures yesterday, showing that hotel demand continues to recover, albeit slowly.

Looking at hotel bookings from Sept. 1, 2011 to Aug. 31, 2012, committed occupancy is up 2 percent year-over-year, while average daily rate (ADR) is up 4.8 percent, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) is up a strong 6.1 percent.

Business travel continues to the drive the increasing numbers, according to TravelClick:

“As the late summer leisure travel season comes to a close, it is clear that the business travel segment will resume its role as the primary demand driver for U.S. hotels throughout the rest of 2011,” said Tim Hart, executive vice president, business intelligence, TravelClick. “However it is important to note that, while the outlook for the travel industry is strong, we need to pay close attention to the recent pace of bookings, particularly in group travel, which has slowed over the last thirty days. Over the next several months, it will need to be determined whether this slower pace is an aberration, or indicates a true slowdown in group demand.”

The top five markets showing the most year-over-year occupancy growth are Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle and Chicago. The weakest markets showing negative growth are Washington, D.C., Honolulu, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and Miami—though RevPAR for all but Washington registered increases, with Miami showing the most growth at 15.1 percent. The numbers indicate that rising rates are making up for the decrease in demand.

Third Quarter 2011 (July 2011 – September 2011)

In Q3 2011, business travel was up 4 percent in both committed occupancy and ADR compared to 2010. Leisure travel rose 1 percent in committed occupancy, with ADR up 5.1 percent. Group demand was down compared to the same time last year.

Markets showing strong occupancy growth in the third quarter are Indianapolis (12.1 percent), Tampa (12.4 percent) and Philadelphia (9.8 percent). Markets showing negative occupancy growth are Miami (-17.2 percent), Honolulu (-6.1 percent) and Atlanta (-4.6 percent).

Fourth Quarter 2011 (October 2011 – December 2011)

With the majority of hotels in the top 25 markets increasing their rates for the fourth quarter, the average publically available rate for a room is up 9.8 percent from last year. Transient pricing continues to drive ADR, which is up 5.5 percent compared to Q4 2010. Committed occupancy continues to level off, increasing only 0.8 percent.

Markets that show above-average occupancy growth in the fourth quarter are Detroit (29.7 percent), San Francisco (15.6 percent) and Houston (11.7 percent). Markets showing anticipated decreases are Atlanta (-9.7 percent), Denver (-11.3 percent) and Miami (-25.9 percent).

The TravelClick North American Hospitality Review is based on reservation and committed group sales data by participating hotel companies, which include Gaylord, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Loews, Marriott, Omni and Starwood. The data is collected in 25 major North American markets, representing 202 million annual room nights and $27 billion in annual room revenue.

Photos: TravelClick

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