Oneida County hotel occupancy rate falls to just 24.5 percent in April, amid cornonavirus shutdown

UTICA — Hotels in Oneida County saw a huge decrease in guests in April, with just under one-quarter of rooms occupied, on average, during the first full month affected by the coronavirus pandemic and its resulting government shutdowns of much of business and daily life.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county plummeted 54.4 percent to 24.5 percent in April, from almost 54 percent occupancy a year ago, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. April’s decline was worse than the nearly 42 percent drop in occupancy in March to 28.6 percent, likely because the early portion of March was before the COVID-19 shutdowns took full effect here.

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, plunged 63.2 percent to $20.08 in April. That was worse than the nearly 46 percent drop in RevPar in March to $26.88.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, fell 19.3 percent to $81.88 in Oneida County this April. That followed a 7 percent drop in ADR in March to $94.01.