Springfield hotel occupancy outpaces state, US in latest quarter

Queen City hotels performed better than the state and national averages in terms of occupancy during the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau's fiscal first quarter.

The report, released this week by the CVB, shows a 67.3% occupancy rate at Springfield hotels during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. The CVB's fiscal year started July 1.

Comparatively, Missouri's hotel occupancy rate was 62.9% and the U.S. average was 66.7%, according to Smith Travel Research data used by the CVB. The report also put Branson's occupancy rate at 53.6%, Kansas City at 63% and St. Louis at 67% during the same time period.

"Although July and August were down slightly from last year's record levels, September bounced back and was easily the best September on record," CVB officials said in the report.

Springfield's hotel occupancy rate was up from 65.9% in September 2021.

Other closely watched statistics also were up during the fiscal first quarter.

Average daily revenue at Springfield hotels rose 10.3% to $100.96, and revenue per available room grew 12.7% to $67.99 compared with a year earlier. Total room sales were up by 7.6% to roughly $39 million.