Orlando hotel occupancy dips in 2024, influenced by inflation, inventory, Epic Universe
Orlando’s hotel occupancy was down for the bulk of 2024, as it added more hotel rooms and attracted fewer visitors.
But the area’s 130,000 rooms saw a surge in bookings in the final three months of the year, so the annual occupancy rate was down only 1.1% from 2023 and at 71.6 % still considered good.
The factors behind the decreases and the rebound are multifold, hospitality experts say. Among them are the pandemic, “revenge travel,” inflation, strength of the U.S. dollar and basic math.
Also playing a role in last year’s figures is this year’s opening of Epic Universe theme park — which may have would-be travelers waiting until 2025 to visit Orlando, they say.
In early 2024, there were large additions to the hotel-room inventory in Orange County, said Chantal Wu, senior director, hospitality and market analytics at CoStar, which collects real-estate data.
Evermore Orlando, with more than 300 rooms, and Conrad Orlando, with 433 units, opened in January, Wu said.
“It takes some time for the market to absorb all of the new supply,” she said.