Property Level Benchmarking with STAR Report Review

Question 1

Affiliations in the Hotel Industry

Answer 1

1. Chain – the hotel brand
2. Parent Company – the company that includes multiple chains
3. Management Company – operates a hotel for another party
4. Owner – there are many companies that own hotels
5. Asset Management Company – represents the owner
6. Membership or Marketing Groups – provide additional benefits to hotels
7. Independent hotels – an important part of the industry

Question 2

STR Geographic Categorization

Answer 2

World
Continents
Sub-continents
Countries
Regions
Markets
Tracts or Submarkets 
Additional geographic fields

Question 3

STAR

Answer 3

Smith Travel Accommodations Report

Question 4

The STAR Reports analyze your hotel’s performance

Answer 4

Occupancy
Average Daily Rate (ADR)
Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)
Supply (Room Nights Available)
Demand (Room Nights Sold) 
Room Revenue

Question 5

STAR Reports provide comparison to competitors:

Answer 5

1. Index numbers

2. Ranking information

Question 6

Index numbers

Answer 6

greater than 100 means the subject is winning, less than 100 means the comp set is winning.

Question 7

Ranking information

Answer 7

Displayed in the format “# of #”, for example “2 of 7” means the subject has the 2nd best value in the comp set of 7.

Question 8

STAR Reports track performance for multiple time periods.

Answer 8

Current month, week, and day
YTD and MTD
Running 3-month, Running 12-month, 28-day, and Running 4-week

Question 9

They also track year-over-year performance.

Answer 9

TY vs. LY percent change for all metrics and indexes

Question 10

STAR Reports of hotels in North America compare the subject hotel to five groups of hotels, specifically the:

Answer 10

Competitive Set: a set of 4 or more properties.
Market: a large geographic segment
Market Class: the market above broken down by class, so similar chain affiliated and independent hotels

Question 11

Market class

Answer 11

Luxury Class 
Upper Upscale Class
Upscale Class
Upper Midscale Class
Midscale Class
Economy Class

Question 12

Additional industry segments

Answer 12

Tract: the geographic subset of the market above

Tract Scale: the tract above broken down by Scale.

Question 13

The Scales are collapsed so there are three Scale groups for chain hotels

Answer 13

Luxury and Upper Upscale Combined
Upscale and Upper Midscale Combined
Midscale and Economy Combined

Question 14

STR Non-geographic Categorization

Answer 14

Scale
Class
Location
Price
Size
Types: Extended Stay, Resort, Boutique, Casino, Golf, Ski, Spa, 
Additional non-geo. fields

Question 15

7 groups, based on average ADR of entire chain

Answer 15

Luxury
Upper Upscale
Upscale
Upper Midscale
Midscale
Economy
& Independents

Question 16

Hotel Industry Metrics

Answer 16

Supply = rooms available
Demand = rooms sold
Occupancy = demand / supply (percentage)
ADR = room revenue / demand ($)
RevPAR = room revenue / supply (per available room) ($)
Percent Change = (this year # - last year #) / last year # (%)

Question 17

STAR Summary – Census and Participation Information

Answer 17

Census: the total number of properties/rooms in a segment.
Sample: the number of properties/rooms that report data to STR.
Sample %: the percentage of rooms in each segment that report data to STR. Check participation.