The first quarter of 2025 was a strong one for HelmsBriscoe. We set another room revenue record, with $406 million booked. We also booked over 1.5 million room nights, and our clients are showing steady demand for hosting meetings and events.
In the US, industry statistics from Baird show Q1 2025 remaining up slightly when compared to the prior year. Occupancy was at 58.4%, compared to last year’s 58.2%; ADR was up 1.9% year-over-year; and RevPAR was up 2.2% over Q1 2024. The luxury segment is currently the top driver of RevPAR growth by chain scale.
Industry performance projections for 2025 in the US have softened due to lower inbound international travel, government spending cuts, and a modest slowdown in overall demand and booking activity due to heightened economic uncertainties. Despite these lowered performance forecasts, booking cancellations are not broad-based at this time. In addition, short-term bookings have stabilized, and overall global travel trends have remained relatively robust.
According to data from STR, global hotel demand has outpaced 2019 levels for the past consecutive 24 months. The past three months have seen demand grow by 9% over 2019, strengthening European occupancy by 2% to 60%. Average rates grew by 3% thanks to the strong demand and occupancy levels.