JACKSON, Wyo. — Hotel occupancy has been down this spring, compared to last year, according to the latest lodging destimetrics report compiled by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce.
Kent Elliott, director of destination global sales for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce attributes this decrease in occupancy rates to the Jackson Hole airport closure.
The report, current as of April 30, tracked April occupancy at 33.1%, compared to 48.3% in 2021. Room revenue was down $582,191 in spite of average room rates increasing by 9.4% compared to April 2021.
May is also looking slower than last May, with 42.9% of rooms already booked, compared to last year’s 66.1%. Historically, 76.3% of all available hotel rooms are booked in May.
June, July and August, “on the books” are also lagging, by 43.1%, 21.3% and 20.9% respectively.
“We will be relying heavily on short-term bookings with drive traffic from the region and beyond,” Elliot said in the report. “Although there appears to be a decrease in demand, it looks as though average room rates continue to increase overall, possibly having an effect on future bookings, not to mention the uncertainty of the economy.”
According to the report, the average room rate increased 23.2% from 2021 to 2022.
