CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland hotel occupancy fell in 2020 in what many observers have dubbed the worst year ever for the industry.

And the bad times aren’t over yet: Joe Savarise, executive director of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, said the first quarter of 2021 is likely to be worse than any quarter of 2020 in terms of occupancy.

Hotel occupancy – that is, the percentage of rooms that are full – in the Greater Cleveland market was 37% for the year, down from 61% in 2019, according to travel research firm STR.

The news was worse in downtown Cleveland, where occupancy was just 31%, down from 68% last year.

“That’s no surprise,” said Savarise. “We’ve been talking about it since March. Our industry has been devastated by the impact of the pandemic and the many levels of orders that limit business and hinder travel. “

He and others in the travel and tourism industries have campaigned for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine over the past few months to relax the rules for future business and other gatherings so group planning can continue. “The alternative is the ongoing loss of business, the negative impact on the travel industry and the ongoing loss of jobs,” he said.

Savarise says more than a third of Ohio hotel workers are unemployed and an increasing number of hotels are facing foreclosure. “Every hotel owner we speak to is struggling to keep the doors open,” he said.

But he added that help is on the way – in the form of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to fuel demand for travel in late summer and beyond. “We’re going to have a very meager start to the year and things are going to get better,” he said. “More people are getting the vaccine every day and that is the key.”

Hotel occupancy in Cleveland lagged behind other major cities in Ohio: occupancy in Cincinnati was 41%, down from 65% in 2019; In Columbus, the occupancy rate was 40% after 66% in 2019.

The occupancy rate in Ohio was 40% compared to 44% in the United States.

Despite the dismal numbers, David Gilbert, President and CEO of Destination Cleveland, said Cleveland was well positioned to make a comeback, thanks in part to the increasing attractiveness of tourism in the area in the years leading up to the pandemic.

“We believe Cleveland can recover faster and stronger than our colleagues,” Gilbert said in an email response to questions. “However, years will be faster than months.”

One recently Report on behalf of Destination Cleveland found it could be 2024 before the city’s tourism numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.

He added, “To do this, we as the travel and tourism community must work together and make complementary efforts to attract leisure travelers, meeting planners and event rights holders to Cleveland as a destination city. As part of this joint effort, we must continue to be flexible, seize short-term opportunities and our position as a propulsion market, and stay focused over the long term to ensure that our efforts are sustainable and strengthen the resilience of the community. “

Laurel Keller, senior vice president at Newmark Valuation & Advisory, said the recovery will not happen overnight. “Travelers need to feel safe and have reasons to travel (attending concerts, festivals, conventions, sporting events, theater productions and weddings),” she said. “Once the Ohio restrictions are fully lifted, groups like the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association and Destination Cleveland need to let travelers know that ‘Ohio is open to business’ and there are plenty of reasons to visit.”

In the United States, occupancy rates varied based on a number of factors including location, weather, and reliance on group travel.

The rigor of the government’s pandemic policy probably also played a role.

In California, for example, hotels are currently only allowed to accommodate important travelers. Hotel occupancy in San Francisco was 28% in December, compared to 72% in the previous year. in Los Angeles it was 38% after 71% in 2019.

At least at the beginning of the pandemic, Ohio had some of the nation’s more restrictive policies, according to Keller. “Because some states were not subject to government-imposed restrictions, they began accepting more and more travelers throughout the year,” she said.

This is how the top US markets developed from highest to lowest occupancy in 2020:

Tampa / St. Petersburg, 51%

Phoenix, 50%

Norfolk / Virginia Beach, 49%

Los Angeles, 49%

San Diego, 48%

Atlanta, 48%

New York City, 47%

Miami, 46%

Detroit, 45%

Anaheim, 44%

Philadelphia, 44%

Dallas, 43%

Denver, 43%

San Francisco, 42%

Houston, 42%

Orlando, 42%

New Orleans, 41%

Nashville, 41%

Cincinnati, 41%

Columbus, 40%

Oahu Island, 39%

Seattle, 38%

St. Louis, 38%

Cleveland, 37%

Washington, DC, 37%

Chicago, 35%

Boston, 35%

Minneapolis / St. Paul, 33%

Ohio, 40%

USA, 44%

Source: STR

Continue reading: Vaccination records, bucket list trips, destinations: what to expect from travel in 2021