This week in Hospitality & Tourism #12 2023

Restaurant companies are feeling optimistic about labor

One labor software company reported a 22% increase in QSR candidate volume year-over-year, while several executives noted they’re at or near full staffing levels.

Who is applying for those jobs? In the quick-service segment, Harver measured a staggering 123.7% increase in candidate volume from those aged 30-plus in Q4 2022 versus Q4 2021. QSRs also received a 69.4% uptick in candidates 20-to-29 year-over-year. Contrarily, Harver’s data shows a 3% decrease in candidate volume for those aged 19 and under. Harver opines that widespread layoffs in other industries such as tech and retail could be driving the applicant flow into restaurants.

STR: U.S. hotel results for week ending 18 March

Helped by spring break travel, U.S. hotel performance increased from the previous week, according to STR‘s latest data through 18 March.

• Among the Top 25 Markets, Boston saw the highest year-over-year increase in occupancy (+17.8% to 71.8%), while Houston saw the highest occupancy lift over 2019 (+9.6% to 72.5%).
• Las Vegas showed the most substantial ADR (+77.9% to US$306.79) and RevPAR growth (+101.5% to US$277.09) year over year. The market also reported the highest increases in the metrics when measuring against 2019: ADR (+113.2% to US$306.79) and RevPAR (+116.9% to US$277.09).
• The steepest RevPAR declines from 2019 were seen in San Francisco (-39.7% to US$139.73) and Philadelphia (-12.9% to US$83.68). Year over year, Miami reported the largest RevPAR decrease (-8.9% to US$252.69).

12-18 March 2023 (percentage change from comparable weeks in 2022, 2019):

• Occupancy: 67.6% (+1.3%, -2.5%)
• Average daily rate (ADR): US$167.04 (+8.9%, +23.9%)
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$112.89 (+10.4%, +20.8%)