Onondaga County hotel occupancy rate declines more than 9 percent in May

SYRACUSE — Hotels in Onondaga County saw fewer guests in May than in the year-ago month, according to a new report.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county fell 9.5 percent to 60.8 percent in May from 67.2 percent a year earlier, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It was the eighth straight month in which Onondaga County’s occupancy rate declined compared to the year-earlier period. Year to date, hotel occupancy in the county was down 7.4 percent to 51.2 percent. 

To be sure, Onondaga County last year hosted the U.S. Bowling Congress — at the Oncenter in Syracuse — from late March through early July. That pumped an estimated more than 40,000 hotel room night stays into the market. No similar event is taking place this year, making it difficult to match last year’s hotel occupancy numbers. 

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, fell 7.7 percent to $71.32 in May from $77.28 in May 2018. Through the first five months of the year, the county’s RevPar declined 5.9 percent to $51.91.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, gained 2 percent to $117.20 in May from $114.92 a year before. Year to date, Onondaga County’s ADR was up 1.7 percent to $101.40.