Room at the Inn?
Those who visit Columbia for a football weekend probably know there’s a chance that hotel rooms will be sold out (or at least hard to come by), especially when a big SEC opponent comes to Columbia. But what about the rest of the year?
Columbia has seen a slight drop in hotel occupancy percentage rates the last few calendar years. In 2013, Columbia hotels had an occupancy rate of 58.3 percent. That number fell off to 56.8 percent in 2014 and 56.3 percent in 2015.
Despite a slight drop in occupancy rates, Columbia continues to see an increase in hotel tax revenues. Hotel taxes accounted for more than $2.3 million in 2014, an increase from 2012 and 2013. The increase in revenue comes because the average daily rate has increased in the last few years. The occupancy rates include all days, not just weekends. There are more than 3,600 hotel rooms in Columbia.
Megan McConachie, marketing and communications manager for the Columbia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, says the occupancy rate is a good number for a city of Columbia’s size, and as long as overall hotel tax revenue continues to grow without large dips in occupancy, it’s good news.
The last three years of hotel tax revenue for Columbia, based on a random sampling of hotels: