Key Takeaways:
- Economy
Despite layoff headlines, employment continues to grow.
Unemployment declined in April to 3.4%, as the economy posted a 1.9% increase in employment.
Hotel wage growth decelerated by 300 bps since January.
In April, hotel wage growth was below retail wage growth for the first time since the pandemic.
Personal savings and consumer confidence dropped in April.
Consumer confidence dropped slightly, while personal savings dipped to 4.1% from 4.5%.
- Current Trends
International travel slowed in April relative to 2019.
Despite the recent slowdown in inbound international visitation, the influx of travelers from Japan and China is likely to fuel growth in 2023.
RevPAR growth for all location types moderated in April.
While RevPAR for all location types continued to outperform 2019 levels, most experienced an ebb in growth in April compared with prior months.
TSA throughput pulled back slightly in May.
TSA throughput was 99% of 2019 levels since the beginning of May, while airfares decreased 0.9% on a year-over-year basis.
- Food for Thought
Credit metrics became more favorable in April.
Following bank failures in March, CMBS spreads narrowed to 349 basis points, and loan origination yields contracted to 7.0%.
Easy Omicron comparisons drove profit growth.
After two months of strong profit growth, March’s growth decreased to 7.9% as comparisons became more difficult in the last month of the quarter.
Overall transactions declined in April.
Although the number of transactions decreased in April, the number of limited-service transactions still exceeded 2019 levels.
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