New Orleans hotels' Mardi Gras occupancy rates best since COVID
New Orleans hotels had their best Mardi Gras since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to early numbers from New Orleans & Co.
Why it matters: "By all accounts, it was a great Mardi Gras" for the hospitality industry, New Orleans & Co. CEO Walt Leger III told The Times-Picayune.
By the numbers: New Orleans has about 26,000 hotel rooms downtown, and occupancy averaged about 86% between Feb. 28 and Mardi Gras, the tourism agency says.
On Endymion Saturday, occupancy is expected to have shot up to 95%.
That's significantly better than last year, when occupancy over the comparable five-night stretch averaged 81%.
Yes, but: In the pre-COVID days, peak hotel occupancy regularly reached 95% over Mardi Gras, The Times-Picayune reports.
Between the lines: These numbers don't include short-term rentals, which represent a significant portion of the travel market.
The big picture: The Jan. 1 terror attack on Bourbon Street shifted the narrative around New Orleans visitation as the city entered the Super Bowl and Carnival.
Most of the conversation nationally focused on safety and whether a person could feel good about visiting the city so quickly after such a high-profile, deadly incident.
Zoom in: CBD and French Quarter hotels saw 97% occupancy over the Friday and Saturday of Super Bowl week, according to industry numbers, with an average daily rate of just under $1,000.
What's next: The official hotel numbers for Mardi Gras should be in by Friday, a New Orleans & Co. representative tells Axios New Orleans.
Go deeper: Economic impact of Mardi Gras continues growing
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