Dive Brief:

• U.S. hotel RevPAR grew 0.4% year over year in January, marking the first month the hotel performance metric has gone up since March 2025, per a monthly report from CoStar. 
• The uptick comes after several hotel groups reported widespread U.S. RevPAR declines in the fourth quarter of 2025. Several companies also experienced performance slumps for full-year 2025. 
• January’s performance could signal promise for how the industry will fare this year, with CoStar and Tourism Economic previously forecasting 0.6% year-over-year growth in RevPAR in 2026.

Dive Insight:

According to the report, ADR in January rose 0.6% year over year to $152.09. Meanwhile, occupancy for the month experienced a slight dip, declining by 0.2% year over year. 

Minneapolis outperformed in terms of both occupancy and RevPAR, rising by 17.5% and 25.9% year over year, respectively, in January. While winter is traditionally a low-demand period for the area due to extreme seasonal weather, the lift was due in part to federal agent activity and the attention the city has received since, according to the report. Earlier this year, Hilton removed an independently owned Hampton Inn hotel from its system after it allegedly refused to accommodate Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. 

Another metro that performed well in January was Miami — the only U.S. city to post double-digit ADR growth, rising 12.4% year over year to $160.54. CoStar said this bump was largely due to the city hosting the College Football Playoff National Championship game. 

The January numbers come after U.S. hotels, in 2025, saw full-year RevPAR declines for the first since 2020, per a previous CoStar report. International travel was especially impacted in 2025, with geopolitical tensions and shifting economic policies dampening inbound travel.

But for some U.S. cities, the January 2026 picture wasn’t as rosy, according to the report. Washington, D.C., saw the steepest year-over-year declines in ADR and RevPAR in the month, dropping 25.8% and 31.3%, respectively. According to CoStar, this was due to a comparison against the presidential inauguration in 2025. Tampa, Florida, saw the largest decline in occupancy in January, which fell 14.9% year over year to 68.2%.

Still, hotel CEOs remain largely optimistic about growth in 2026, thanks in part to events like the FIFA World Cup, which is expected to bring a “modest lift” to RevPAR, per a February report from CoStar and Tourism Economics. Host markets in particular are slated to benefit from the tournament the most and are positioned to see RevPAR growth of 12.7% year over year during the months of June and July. 

Additionally, America’s upcoming 250th birthday is expected to bring a boost to hotel performance as travelers from all over flock to major U.S. cities hosting celebrations, including Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C.