US Hotels Prepare For Memorial Day Weekend Demand Surge

U.S. hoteliers expect more guests for Memorial Day weekend this year as more people are vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus and restrictions and guidelines ease.

Memorial Day weekend hotel occupancy for 2020 was about 40%, which was significantly lower than normal demand around the holiday, but was notable during a time when there were several COVID-19-related restrictions in place, said Ali Hoyt, senior director of consulting and analytics at STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm.

The holiday provided "a five to 10 percentage point bump" in hotel occupancy, compared to the first three weekends in May, "which everybody was excited to see," she said.