Industry Updates

Analysis by M. Brian Riley

Driven by the surge in post-pandemic travel, overtourism became a major talking point across Europe in 2023 and continued to dominate discussions into 2024. With a year-plus of data now available, we can assess the effectiveness of various countermeasures and their impact on hotel performance.

Analysis by Brannan Doyle

Most major European markets saw year-over-year (YoY) performance growth in February 2025, ranging from subdued to substantial. In some countries – France being a notable example –revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew YoY for all major markets. Elsewhere, countries saw gains in some markets offset by sluggish performance in others. 

Analysis by Kelsey Fenerty

Ramadan, the Islamic Holy Month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community, started the evening of Friday, 28 February and is expected to last until 29 or 30 March, depending on the lunar cycle.

Analysis by Audrey Kallman

January kicked off 2025 with most countries in the Americas region (excluding the U.S.) reporting year-over-year (YoY) growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR). Argentina and Mexico led with the highest growth in RevPAR, disguised by currency issues that yielded a strong enough lift in average daily rate (ADR) to counter an occupancy decline in both countries. 

Market Forecasts, produced by STR and Tourism Economics, provide you with the insights needed to anticipate future performance. 

Europe short-term outlook: 

Aggregated growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) for STR’s 31 European forecast markets is projected at 2.4% for 2025, a modest improvement from 2.0% in November 2024. Despite the top-line change, expectations for most markets are functionally unchanged from last quarter. The RevPAR upgrade comes from changes in a few key markets. 

Overall Performance in Mainland China

The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is China's most important traditional holiday, and has always been a peak period for travel and tourism. This year, the economic slowdown has brought some pressure to the hotel industry. While Mainland China hotels welcomed the Spring Festival influx, it also faced numerous challenges.

Analysis by Christina Choueifaty and Kelsey Fenerty

The Southern European hospitality market experienced yet another year of high performance. In 2024, regional RevPAR increased 9.8% year over year as the allure of beaches and historic cities attracted leisure travelers from around the globe. This robust demand lifted average daily rate (ADR) 8% to EUR175 – the highest regional rate in Europe for the year.

Market Forecasts, produced by STR and Tourism Economics, provide you with the insights needed to anticipate future performance. 

U.S. 

The top-line U.S. RevPAR forecast is unchanged from our previous revision, with 1.8% growth forecasted for 2025. While top-line growth remains the same, increases have been rebalanced across segments.  

Analysis by Chris Klauda and Claudia Alvarado Cruz

Note: Beginning with this January 2025 version, monthly “bubble chart” updates will reflect a more granular, regional focus on performance. Each month will focus on a different world region with more analysis as opposed to the global view from previous years.

Analysis by Chris Klauda