Hotel Occupancy Averaging 91 Percent in Tampa Bay’s Pinellas County

The most recent destination data confirms what many in the St. Pete/Clearwater tourism industry have been saying recently: “I’ve never seen the destination this busy.” Pinellas County, home to world-famous St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach comprises a major part of Tampa International Airport’s primary catchment area.

In the 30 days since March 12, 2021, St. Pete/Clearwater’s occupancy has eclipsed 90 percent 20 times and hasn’t fallen below 80 percent, according to STR. During that time, the destination’s occupancy has averaged 91.3 percent. March of 2019, the destination’s busiest month of all time, saw an average occupancy of 88.6 percent.

The same can be said for vacation rentals, which have been performing on par or better than 2019, according to KeyData.

And demand doesn’t appear to be slowing down. KeyData shows vacation rentals outpacing 2019 for much of the next six months, while hotels are well positioned to bridge Easter and Summer Break without a traditional lull.