Onondaga County hotel occupancy ticks up in May from prior month, but is still way off from a year ago on COVID-19 impact

SYRACUSE — Onondaga County hotels started to see more guests in May compared to April, but occupancy levels were still down more than 60 percent from year-ago levels as the continuing coronavirus pandemic took a toll on business, travel, and leisure. 

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county was 22.7 percent in May, up from 18.3 percent occupancy in April, but down almost 63 percent from more than 60 percent occupancy in May 2019. That’s according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. 

Onondaga County’s revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, was $15.68 in May, up from $11.99 in April, but down 78 percent from more than $71 a year prior.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, was $69.15 in May, up from $65.64 in April, but down 41 percent from more than $117 in May 2019.