Following up on STR’s initial Hurricane Ida analysis from 10 September, a vast majority of hotels in the New Orleans MSA have reopened with improving occupancy levels, especially in the core city center/central business district. This high volume of reopenings was to be expected because most closures were due to short-term power outages rather than property damage. Remaining short-term temporary closures are mostly concentrated in submarkets outside of the city.
In terms of Ida-related demand, data for 5-11 September indicated a smaller shift compared with the previous week. Occupancy moved downward in safe harbor markets in Alabama, Mississippi, etc., while occupancy ticked up in the New Orleans market. Historically, hurricane-related demand grows as displaced residents return to affected markets and hotels see added business from relief workers, insurance adjustors, etc.
Of course, movement in occupancy levels was partially due to the end of the Labor Day holiday, which also played a role in lifting occupancy for the previous week. Occupancy levels in New Orleans MSA have also been helped by a return to regular activity in the city over the last two weeks, which continued to be reflected in the latest data for 11-18 September.
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