TAMPA – Super Bowl 55 weekend brought oversized crowds to Hillsborough County hotels, Visit Tampa Bay announced Thursday.

Hotel occupancy reached 92.1 percent on the weekend of Super Bowl 55 – 93.8 percent on Saturday, February 6, and 90.4 percent on Super Bowl Sunday – according to industry tracker Smith Travel Research, STR Inc.

Hotel goers for the game at Raymond James Stadium exceeded the 2009 Super Bowl weekend in Tampa Bay, which was 84.7 percent occupancy over the same period.

Hotel revenue over the weekend was nearly $ 14.3 million, up 166 percent from the same data in February 2020.

“These preliminary data show the hospitality industry impact rather than the overall economic impact, but demonstrate the hard work and resilience of this destination and all partners involved,” said Santiago C. Corrada, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, said in a published statement.

“We faced several unique challenges, but our community came together and ultimately proved that despite more hotel inventory, a hometown team, and a pandemic, that goal was ready to host one of the most memorable and impactful games at a critical time in our region’s history. We couldn’t be more proud of how our church has come together to make this happen. “

Last week Corrada informed the Hillsborough Tourist Development Council that two-thirds of hotel rooms in the county were occupied in the week leading up to Super Bowl 55. In the week from February 1st to 6th, hotel occupancy reached 67.5 percent. according to preliminary information provided by Corrada.

The rate is significantly lower than in the years without a pandemic, but a significant jump compared to the occupancy rate of almost 50 percent, at which the hotels in the district hovered.