Va. hotel revenues remain low during increased COVID-19 restrictions

Even more declines anticipated in coming weeks

Published December 2, 2020 by Sydney Lake

With COVID-19 cases mounting, Virginia hotel revenues continue to decline when compared with last year, according to data from STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry.

For the week of Nov. 22 through Nov. 28, hotel revenues in Virginia decreased by 34% and rooms sold declined by 24%, compared with the same week last year. The week prior saw a 48% decrease in revenue compared to 2019 and a 29% decline in rooms sold. Compared with last year, the average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms dropped 14% to $78.64, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell to $27.92, a 34% decline.

“As many of our hotels have had to cancel meetings and events as a result of the recent restrictions implemented in the governor’s new executive order, we are anticipating even more declines in the coming weeks,” says Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association. On Nov. 13, Northam announced that the state would enforce new restrictions to prevent COVID-19 spread, including limiting gatherings to 25 people — down from a cap of 250 people.

Hotel revenues and rooms sold declined in most markets in Virginia last week, compared with the same time frame last year. Compared with the same week in 2019, revenues fell 46% in Northern Virginia, 42% in Charlottesville and 23% in Hampton Roads. During the week of Nov. 15 through Nov. 21, revenues fell 68% in Northern Virginia, 24% in Charlottesville and 30% in Hampton Roads. The number of rooms sold in Northern Virginia is down by 37%, Charlottesville is down by 22% and Hampton Roads is down by 12%. 

Williamsburg continues to be the hardest-hit locality in Hampton Roads, though, seeing a 53% decline in revenue last week, followed by Newport News/Hampton with a 12% decline.

“Performance of the hotels in the commonwealth during this week was in general slightly better than last week,” Professor Vinod Agarwal of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy said in a statement. “COVID-19 continues to have adverse impacts on this industry.”

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.