Increase in Miami Hotel Industry following Hurricane Season

Following the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September, the increased demand has led Miami’s hotel industry to have one of the strongest fourth quarters of any market in the United States over the past year.

The Revenue per available room shot up 16.3 percent from $152.42 months October through December. Revenue per available room is a widely used metric within the hotel industry. According to the hospitality tracker STR, that growth is almost four times the RevPAR national growth over the same period of time in 2016.

Not stopping there, the Miami or Hialeah market also showed the second-highest increases in two additional metrics. Occupancy climbed 9 percent to a total of 77 percent occupancy. They were also leaders in the average daily rate, which rose 6.6 percent to equal $197.82. The boost can likely be attributed to Hurricane Irma which displaced many people from their homes in the Keys and some in Miami following flooding or extensive damage to the homes.

Miami was second only to Houston, Texas, which also sustained severe damage from the Hurricane Harvey in August of 2017. Houston showed double-digit increases across all three metrics. Houston showed a 40.9 percent growth in RevPAR to 79.82. Their growth in numbers is also heavily due to the damage caused by hurricane Harvey. There were a large number of not only hurricane victims needing somewhere to stay, but also relief workers, insurance adjusters, and other hurricane-related business, according to hospitality tracker STR.

While markets affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma saw an increase in the hospitality business, they weren’t the only markets. The overall hotel industry within the United States showed new records across the board in the fourth quarter of 2017. Nationwide occupancy grew slightly to 65.9 percent, ADR grew 2.1 percent to $126.72. RevPAR increased by 3 percent to $85.57. All three categories were the highest ever recorded by STR, there were also additional records in supply and demand with 1.87 billion room nights available and 1.23 billion room nights sold.