In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, at least 155 New Orleans hotels are temporarily closed due to power outages, staffing issues and third-party services such as linen providers being offline, according to the latest data and analysis from STR.
Including all NOLA data benchmarking participants, STR researched the operating status of 208 hotels accounting for 35,835 rooms. From that group, 155 properties (75 percent) and 28,756 rooms (80 percent) are currently closed.
Because most closures are due to temporary conditions around the city and not property damage, STR does not expect widespread permanent closures. Most hotels are showing short-term reopening dates as of now, but there will be shifts in dates in the coming weeks and months as properties make determinations based on power restoration, supplier availability, staffing and demand.
Of the estimated 155 properties currently closed, 41 are not reporting a projected opening date.
A common trend around major storms historically is an initial drop in occupancy for the areas directly affected. In this latest hurricane, however, New Orleans was already at significantly low performance levels because of the pandemic. That meant that hotels that remained open in the New Orleans area saw improved levels of occupancy with guests seeking refuge from their damaged properties, as well as the usual influx of media and relief workers that enter a market once a storm has passed.
Based on the destruction, STR expects a longer-than-usual occupancy lift for hotels in Gulf evacuation zones. Additionally, hotels in the New Orleans region, as they reopen, will see continued demand from displaced residents, media, relief workers, insurance adjustors, etc.
Northeast
The remnants of Ida created unprecedented weather in the Northeast, especially in New York City, creating massive flooding and subsequent loss of life. Quantifying the demand lift from Ida compared to the demand lift from Labor Day weekend is somewhat more challenging, however, according to STR. Occupancy in New York City reached 80.1 percent for the weekend, likely in part due to Ida displacements and partly due to leisure demand that was already planned for the long weekend—especially with several Broadway shows reopening.
Washington, D.C., on the other hand, was not hit by the storms and can mostly attribute its 68.9 percent weekend occupancy to leisure demand.
The Ida impact on hotel performance in the Northeast corner of the country is expected to be much more short-term.