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Data suggests hoteliers in top markets for Thanksgiving travel should prepare for a record number of guests this holiday weekend. © 2016 STR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. illustrations: annamarie hudson Source: AAA, STR 62.8% luxury hotels 48.2% economy hotels 7.6% 89.4% 3% 55.4% Boston, MA 83.8% Oahu Island, HI 1.9% increase over 2015 50.8% occupancy 4 5 3 1 2 Data suggests Thanksgiving guests open up their wallets, as luxury hotels saw the highest occupancy on Thanksgiving 2015 among the STR chain scales (62.8%), while economy hotels reported just 48.2%. Average daily rate for luxury hotels last year was $334.47 and RevPAR was $210.10. Most Thanksgiving weekend travelers (89.4%) will drive to and from their holiday destinations, according to AAA, while 7.6% will fly and 3% will go by boat or other means. In 2015, the highest occupancy market on Thanksgiving among the top 25 markets was Oahu Island, Hawaii, with 83.8%. That’s about as far as you can get from the location of the first Thanksgiving in the U.S., while Boston, the closest top market, sits in the middle of the pack at 55.4% occupancy. During the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Wednesday to Sunday) this year, 48.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home, according to AAA. That’s an increase of 1 million (or 1.9%) over 2015. Since 2000, U.S. hotels have had an average of 50.8% occupancy on Thanksgiving. In 2015, Average daily rate reached $109.46 and revenue per available room was measured at $60.15 on the holiday, according to HNN’s parent company STR.
