The strongest weekend of 2026 added to the industry’s sustained growth
Last week reinforced a trend that has defined the recent months for the U.S. hotel industry, with weekday demand continuing to drive most of the year-over-year performance growth.
At the same time, hotels recorded their strongest weekend performance of the year, with demand, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR all reaching 2026 highs during the Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day weekend.
In the week of Oct. 4-10, U.S. hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 6.5% year over year, marking the industry’s 26th week of growth in the past 27 weeks. Average daily rate (ADR) rose 4.1%, demand increased 2.6%, and occupancy improved 1.6 percentage points. As has been the case for much of the year, weekdays (Sunday-Thursday) drove most of the gains. Weekday RevPAR increased 7.3% and accounted for 88% of the week’s year-over-year demand growth.
The continued weekday strength reflects both improving business travel trends and favorable comparisons from 2025. Last year, weekday hotel room demand declined for eight consecutive weeks from August through late October, creating a tailwind for growth. Those comparisons are expected to remain favorable through the remainder of October, as the comparable period was also affected by the federal government shutdown and related reductions in government travel. While weekday performance continued to drive growth rates, the weekend produced the week’s defining story.
Best weekend of 2026
U.S. hotels recorded their highest weekend demand, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR levels of the year during the Friday and Saturday of Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day weekend. Weekend ADR reached $198.68, the highest nominal weekend ADR on record since 2000. Weekend RevPAR climbed to $158.64, also the highest nominal weekend RevPAR ever recorded and more than $6 above the previous record. Hotels sold 9.1 million room nights over the two-day period, making it the seventh-highest weekend on record and the strongest weekend demand since 2022.
Despite those records, year-over-year growth did not fully capture the magnitude of the weekend’s hotel performance. Weekend RevPAR increased 4.3%, a result that appeared somewhat muted because the comparable weekend in 2025 was already the highest-performing weekend of that year.
Viewed through an absolute performance lens, however, last week stands apart. Not only was it the strongest weekend of 2026, but it also ranked among the highest-performing weekends ever recorded across several key hospitality metrics. It’s also worth noting that demand for this past weekend was the seventh highest ever record and that the six weeks ahead of it all occurred in the summer months, making this weekend even more distinctive.
Strength extends across hotel classes
The combination of strong weekday growth and record weekend performance was evident across every hotel class segment. All classes reported growth in demand, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR for the week. Consistent with the national trend, weekday RevPAR growth exceeded weekend RevPAR growth in every segment.
At the same time, several classes recorded their strongest weekend performance of the year. Luxury, upper-upscale, upscale and upper-midscale hotels each established 2026 highs in weekend demand, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR. Midscale and economy segments narrowly missed setting new highs, posting their second-best weekend of the year across all four measures.
The segment results illustrate a theme seen throughout the U.S. hotel industry. Year-over-year growth remained strongest during the week, but absolute performance reached its highest levels on the weekend.
Weekend highs were seen across the country
The weekend’s strength was also notable for how broadly it was distributed across the country. Twenty-eight markets recorded their highest weekend demand of 2026, while 27 reached annual highs in occupancy. Another 23 markets set weekend RevPAR highs and 19 established ADR highs. In total, there were 97 market-level annual highs across the four major performance metrics, nearly double the total from any other weekend in 2026.
The breadth of participation is particularly noteworthy because only three of the markets posting peak weekend demand were among the top 25 U.S. hotel markets. Yet top 25 markets collectively recorded their strongest weekend of 2026 across every major metric, including record nominal ADR and RevPAR levels. The results suggest the weekend surge was not concentrated in a handful of major markets. Instead, record performance occurred across a wide mix of markets and classes.
Top 25 growth rates lag the rest of the country
For the full week, top 25 markets underperformed the rest of the country, posting RevPAR growth of 5.8% year over year. Much of that growth was concentrated in a familiar group of markets. San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans each saw RevPAR gains above 20% last week. Those same markets have been the industry’s strongest performers over the last month, with RevPAR growth surpassing 27% in each market over the past four weeks.
Takeaway
The U.S. hotel industry’s growth story remains largely tied to weekdays, supported by improving business travel trends and increasingly favorable comparisons to late 2025. However, it is important to not let that story mask performance in other areas of the industry. Last week delivered the strongest weekend of 2026 across demand, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, with record-setting results extending across classes and markets. As the industry moves deeper into the fourth quarter, weekday comparisons should continue to support growth, but strength on weekends will be critical in determining the overall magnitude of that growth.
Asia-Pacific and Europe lead a global RevPAR rebound
After an underwhelming week, global hotel RevPAR improved, up 4.7% on a comparable and constant USD basis excluding the U.S. ADR growth (+3.8%) led the way again but occupancy was also up for the first time in four weeks. Growth was widespread with all parts of the world reporting growth, except the Middle East and Africa. Asia-Pacific saw the strongest gains (+8.1%) followed by Europe (+6.1%).
In Asia, the growth was led by India (+14.4%). China and Australia also saw solid growth with RevPAR increasing by mid-single digits. In Europe, Italy continued to see strong growth followed by Spain. Of the key countries, only Germany reported a decline in RevPAR for the week.
In the Americas, RevPAR in Mexico and the Caribbean was down due mostly to falling occupancy. Canada continued to see solid growth with RevPAR rising by 8.1% this week on gains in both occupancy and ADR. RevPAR was particularly strong in Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau where it rose by double-digits. Vancouver was the weakest of the major markets as its RevPAR was flat.
By: Cole Martin, Isaac Collazo / CoStar News