Traveling Toward Recovery: Denver Hotels Show 57% Jump In Occupancy

Hotels in metro Denver are still working toward a full comeback nearly two years after the coronavirus pandemic sent shockwaves through the hospitality industry, but industry insiders say they’re on the right track, with a 57% increase in hotel occupancy over last year.

That’s according to the latest Rocky Mountain Lodging Report from the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, which tracks hotel metrics statewide. Metro area hotels were about 51% occupied in January, compared to 33% in January 2021.

Two key revenue figures are also up compared to last year, with average daily rates reaching $116 and revenue per available room hitting $60, representing annual increases of 40% and 120%, respectively.

Things are getting better, Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center General Manager Greg Leonard told Bisnow, but have a long road to reach the hoteling heyday the city experienced in the years just before the pandemic.

Pre-Covid-19, an influx of visitors sent the tourism industry in Colorado to record numbers. But with the pandemic came reduced capacities at the state’s signature ski resorts, canceled conferences and postponed events.

Two years later, leisure travel is trending upward, Leonard said, but group bookings, like those made by companies or industries attending conferences, are rarer.

Hotels in the metro area are experiencing varying levels of recovery, Leonard said. Smaller, boutique destination hotels, for example, are faring better than their more business-oriented counterparts.

Leonard’s 1,100-room hotel is located just across the street from the Colorado Convention Center, an enviable location that, in more normal times, means a steady stream of conference-goers.

But an ongoing scarcity of conventions has meant a slower recovery at the Hyatt Regency.

There are signs of optimism for the meetings market. Outdoor Retailer, a trade show for the recreation industry, in January held its Snow Show event in Denver for the first time since before the pandemic. The event was pared back, with about 350 exhibitors, compared with the 1,000 to 1,200 who used to attend, but it brought traffic to the Convention Center nonetheless, and therefore to the Hyatt.

Another regular, the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention, also returned in January, and more conventions are expected as the year progresses. Great American Beer Festival, for example, a behemoth, three-day event that has been virtual for the last two years, is expected to return in its physical form at the Convention Center in October.

The one visitor the hospitality industry wishes would stay away is a new Covid variant. Early in 2021, when vaccines and hope for a return to normal were proliferating, business started to pick up for area hotels, but the onset of the delta and then omicron variants tapped the brakes on that progress each time.

“Barring any other delta- or omicron-type scare, the path to the future the rest of this year should be very positive,” Leonard said.

As with all industries, staffing is a challenge. 

While some staff have returned following the early-2020 layoffs that pervaded hospitality and retail, others have moved to a different city, decided to go back to school or try a different industry, Leonard said. 

“As business comes back, as groups and folks come back to hotels, we will continue to see growth in employment, but we are a bit challenged with it right now,” he said.

One thing that would help with his recruiting efforts, he said, is a little more patience and kindness on the part of customers. As staffing shortages continue at establishments of all kinds, some customers have been impatient and lacked understanding. 

“We see it in the hospitality business, whether it’s a restaurant or a hotel. Individuals are not as giving, as understanding," Leonard said.

It’s hard to quantify, but a kinder attitude helps employees feel the sense of satisfaction that can come from work in the hospitality industry, he said.

Despite the ongoing challenges and slower-than-expected recovery, Leonard remains optimistic about his hotel and the overall industry.

“We’re not back to 2017, 2018, 2019 levels yet, but we’re headed back to that soon.”