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The Baton Rouge lodging market is stabilizing after several years of mixed performance. Record-high ADR and demand tied to industrial projects are helping to balance ongoing occupancy challenges and longstanding supply pressures. Future demand growth will depend on correcting the hotel and event supply issues.
The pandemic’s prolonged impact on the New Orleans hospitality market exacerbated a slow period in the convention cycle. However, New Orleans remains a popular leisure destination, with new upscale hotel supply and renovations to demand generators. Market participants are confident that demand growth in 2024 and 2025 will help the city recover to its pre-pandemic metrics.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast reopened faster than most markets in the Southeast, allowing this area to become a drive-to destination for leisure travel. While the record room-rate increases achieved in 2021 and 2022 may not continue, new properties and attractions along the coast should support the market’s popularity going forward.
After Mardi Gras, hotels in the greater New Orleans area faced record declines in demand, similar to many major markets in the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic. What has been the initial impact? How does this compare to historical declines in the city’s hospitality industry? What will the recovery look like?
Activity in medicine, technology, conventions, and tourism brought near-record visitation to New Orleans over the past year. Major developments, ranging from infrastructure to new business and cultural districts, continue to drive hotel demand.
The hotel industry in New Orleans has struggled to regain its footing in the years since Hurricane Katrina, but new data suggest a recovery is underway.