NATIONALLY, occupancy rates
were flat in the first quarter of 2003, as compared to the
same period in 2002. Following a good start to the year with
a 2.6% increase in demand in January and February 2003, the
industry experienced a 1% decline in demand in March 2003.
March’s decline in occupancy equates to a loss of approximately
50,000 room nights nationally, from March 2002 results. While
the industry experienced some erosion in demand in March
as the Iraq War and SARS began to impact travel patterns,
the true impacts will be felt in Quarters 2 and 3 of this
year. PKF will be monitoring these impacts through our National
Market Report as well as a series of questionnaires to our
Trends participants over the next several months.
In Quarter 1 2003, the average daily room
rate increased by 1.5% to $109.42, which resulted in a Revenue
Per Available Room (REVPAR) of $58.39, a 1.9% increase over
the first quarter of 2002.
ATLANTIC CANADA RESULTS – The
Atlantic provinces experienced an overall improvement of
1.2 occupancy points and a 4.0% increase in average daily
room rate, which resulted in a 6.5% increase in REVPAR. Prince
Edward Island was up by 1.4 occupancy points from the same
quarter last year while Newfoundland properties reported
a decline of 0.7 occupancy points. All Atlantic Canada provinces
reported an increase in average daily room rate for the first
quarter of 2003, with Nova Scotia experiencing the highest
increase of 7.1% over the same period in 2002 as well as
an increase of 9.7% in REVPAR.
CENTRAL CANADA RESULTS – First
quarter results for Central Canada showed hotels tracked
by PKF experiencing an increase of 0.9 occupancy points over
the same period in 2002. The average daily room rate for
Central Canada made a slight improvement of 0.6% to $113.63
over 2002 and an increase of 2.4% in REVPAR. Ontario hotels
reported occupancy up by 1.2 points for the first quarter
of 2003 while Quebec properties experienced only a small
increase of 0.4 points in occupancy. Improvements in average
daily room rates were experienced in Quebec (2.1%), while
rates in Ontario were flat ($110.82 to $110.91). Occupancy
performance was led by Toronto Airport (66.9%) while the
highest average daily room rates were achieved in Downtown
Toronto at $138.16.
WESTERN CANADA RESULTS – Overall
occupancy in Western Canada properties was at 53.6%, a decline
of close to 1 occupancy point for the first quarter of 2003.
However, properties in Western Canada achieved a $107.55
average daily room rate, a 2.4% increase, which resulted
in a slight increase of 0.7% in REVPAR.
Manitoba experienced
the most significant decrease in occupancy (down 4 occupancy
points) followed by Alberta Resorts (down 3.7 occupancy points). First
quarter results for 2003 showed that Yukon, Saskatchewan and Alberta experienced
increases in average daily room rate over the first quarter
of 2002. The Whistler Resort Area led both occupancy
performance (76.3%) and average daily room rates ($276.89).
Occupancy Rate First Quarter Results
2002
vs. 2003
Average Daily Room Rate First Quarter Results
2002 vs. 2003
