After three consecutive months of year-over-year increases, Canada’s hotel industry recorded a decline in occupancy, according to CoStar’s July 2024 data.
July 2024 (percentage change from 2023):
- Occupancy: 75.2 percent (-0.4 percent)
- Average daily rate: CAD236.12 (+1.1 percent)
- Revenue per available room: CAD177.62 (+0.7 percent)
“Occupancy dipped marginally in July after a three-month growth run,” Laura Baxter, CoStar Group’s director of hospitality analytics for Canada, said in a statement. “Though most segments grew year over year, group occupancy continued to decline, down 8.5 percent, which was the steepest drop since March. A contraction in transient room rates, due to a lower group base combined with shorter booking windows, contributed to slower ADR growth as well."
Among the provinces and territories, Prince Edward Island recorded the highest occupancy level (81.2 percent), which was 1.2 percent above 2023.
Among the major markets, Vancouver saw the highest occupancy (85.7 percent), down 1.4 percent over July 2023.
The lowest occupancy among provinces was reported in Saskatchewan (63.4 percent), up 0.2 percent against 2023.
At the market level, the lowest occupancy was reported in Edmonton (+3.7 percent to 61.0 percent).
“We recently upgraded our 2024 ADR forecast for Canada, which keeps RevPAR comparisons in positive territory as well," Baxter said. "Occupancy, however, is projected to decline marginally due to mild weakness in the broader economy. We expect interest rate cuts to continue through year end and into 2025, which should gradually provide relief to borrowers, setting the stage for improved economic growth and consumer spending by 2025. If that is the case, we currently expect occupancy to return to a 1.2 percent growth in 2025.”