Report Paints a Grim Forecast for U.S. Hotels

Global real estate giant CBRE released an updated 2020 forecast Tuesday in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, projecting a 37 percent decline in U.S. revenue per available room for the year and a contraction of more than 60 percent in the second quarter. The grim forecast is in contrast to a forecast of only a 0.1 percent decline in RevPAR in 2020 before the onset of the global pandemic.

CBRE also projected demand and average daily rate will decline by 28 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively, in 2020.

The Los Angeles-based firm also lowered its forecast for gross domestic growth from 1.9 percent to 0.4 percent. With governments around the world implementing monetary and fiscal stimulus packages, it expects there will be a substantial rebound in economic activity in 2021.