By Ryan Kawai Sanchez The average length of stay in hotels has undergone a notable shift since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many travelers have opted to extend their hotel stays for longer durations. According to industry reports, the average length of stay in hotels has increased by approximately 20 to 25 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. This trend has been observed across various hospitality industry segments, including leisure and business travel. According to forecasts, the hotel industry in the United States is expected to surpass its pre-pandemic record with 1.3 billion occupied room nights in 2023. This projection indicates a significant increase of 56.9 percent from the lowest point in 2020, which was 831.64 million occupied room nights. From 2021 to 2022, the demand for hotels experienced an improvement of 11.1 percent. In April 2020, over 75 percent of hotel rooms in the country were unoccupied, as reported by STR. However, three years later, the hotel industry has significantly recovered and is expected to continue this positive trend in the coming year. The average hotel occupancy rate in the United States is projected to be 63.8 percent in 2023, a remarkable improvement from the historic low of 43.9 …
