Market Overview
Louisiana's lodging market enters mid-2026 in a normalization phase. Statewide blended occupancy sits in the low-60s (≈60.4%, est.), several points below pre-pandemic norms but stable quarter-to-quarter. The dominant story is the comp problem created by Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February 2025: that event drove a Q1 2025 ADR spike near $178 and pushed RevPAR above $118, a peak the market cannot repeat in 2026. As a result, headline ADR (≈$151, est.) and RevPAR (≈$91, est.) print down year-over-year — a statistical correction, not a demand collapse.
Underneath the optics, operators have held rate discipline. New Orleans continues to command a premium (ADR ≈$182, est.) on the strength of leisure demand — it was ranked among the top U.S. destinations for 2025 — plus a deep 2026 events calendar (Jazz & Heritage Festival headliners, large medical conventions exceeding 10,000 attendees). Baton Rouge runs a different playbook: occupancy near 57% but a record ADR (~$104) supported by government, LSU, and industrial/petrochemical demand. Shreveport-Bossier is the standout for momentum, with the February 2025 opening of Live! Casino & Hotel lifting visitation roughly 19% and reshaping the regional gaming-lodging mix. Lafayette tracks the energy cycle and regional events.
Nationally, Louisiana sits below the U.S. averages on occupancy (~63%) and ADR (~$160) but is broadly in line on the trajectory: modest, rate-led growth with occupancy under pressure from selective new supply. The near-term pipeline is concentrated and manageable — most notably the approved 1,000-key Omni convention headquarters hotel in New Orleans, which breaks ground in 2026 for a ~2029 delivery and therefore does not pressure supply within this report's 12–24 month window.
Headline Metrics
Blended statewide indicators across the four covered submarkets, with year-over-year change. Occupancy change is shown in percentage points; rate, supply, and pricing in percent.
Blended statewide; down on tough Super Bowl LIX (Feb '25) comp.
Per occupied room/night, blended.
Revenue per available room; occupancy + rate both easing off 2025 peak.
Existing room inventory across the four covered submarkets.
Excludes the 1,000-key Omni convention HQ hotel (breaks ground 2026).
Trailing-12mo transactions; skewed by New Orleans full-service trades.
Performance Trends
Twelve quarters of statewide blended performance. The Q1 2025 spike reflects Super Bowl LIX demand in New Orleans — the comp that makes 2026 year-over-year prints look soft.
Occupancy Rate
est.Statewide blended, % of available rooms sold
ADR & RevPAR
est.Average daily rate vs. revenue per available room ($)
Net Demand vs. New Supply
est.Quarterly net rooms-sold change vs. new rooms delivered (rooms)
Room Inventory Growth
est.Cumulative existing room supply across covered submarkets
Submarket Breakdown
Click any column to sort. All submarket figures are estimates (est.) calibrated to reported occupancy and rate levels. Totals are room-weighted.
| Submarket↕ | Rooms▼ | Occupancy↕ | ADR↕ | RevPAR↕ | Under Constr.↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Orleans Leisure, conventions, festivals | 38,000 | 62.5% | $182 | $114 | 1,250 |
Baton Rouge Government, LSU, industrial | 9,200 | 57.0% | $106 | $60 | 350 |
Shreveport-Bossier Gaming, casino resorts | 7,800 | 56.0% | $95 | $53 | 500 |
Lafayette Energy, petrochemical, events | 6,400 | 58.0% | $98 | $57 | 180 |
| Statewide (covered) | 61,400 | 60.4% | $151 | $92 | 2,280 |
Covered Submarkets
stylizedMarker size scaled to room inventory.
Development & Pipeline Activity
The hospitality analogue of leasing activity: notable new builds, conversions, renovations, and planned additions shaping near-term supply.
| Property | Rooms | Submarket | Type | Status | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omni Convention Center HQ Hotel | 1,000 | New Orleans | Planned | Approved; breaks ground 2026, ~2029 open | 2026 |
| DoubleTree by Hilton — full renovation | 367 | New Orleans | Renovation | $5M reposition, completing 2026 | 2026 |
| Live! Casino & Hotel — Bossier (hotel tower) | 550 | Shreveport-Bossier | New build | Casino opened Feb '25; lodging ramp ongoing | 2025–26 |
| St. Charles Ave boutique cluster (multiple)est. | 240 | New Orleans | Conversion | Adaptive-reuse pipeline, phased delivery | 2025–27 |
| Health District select-service hotelest. | 165 | Baton Rouge | New build | Under construction | Q4 '26 |
| River Ranch dual-brand select-serviceest. | 180 | Lafayette | New build | Under construction | Q2 '27 |
Transaction Activity
Representative recent hotel trades by submarket and segment. This table is illustrative/modeled (est.) — replace with verified comps before publication.
| Property | Keys | Price | $ / Key | Submarket | Segment | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBD full-service (repositioned)est. | 285 | $71.3M | $250,000 | New Orleans | Upper-upscale | Q1 2026 |
| French Quarter boutiqueest. | 130 | $41.6M | $320,000 | New Orleans | Luxury / lifestyle | Q4 2025 |
| Airport-corridor select-serviceest. | 124 | $14.9M | $120,000 | New Orleans | Upper-midscale | Q3 2025 |
| I-10 select-service portfolio (2 assets)est. | 210 | $21.0M | $100,000 | Baton Rouge | Midscale / extended-stay | Q4 2025 |
| Acadiana extended-stayest. | 110 | $9.9M | $90,000 | Lafayette | Extended-stay | Q1 2026 |
| Casino-adjacent limited-serviceest. | 150 | $12.0M | $80,000 | Shreveport-Bossier | Midscale | Q3 2025 |
Forward Outlook
Through the next 12 months, expect the year-over-year optics to stay negative as the market laps the Super Bowl quarter, then inflect positive in 2027 once the comp clears. We see statewide occupancy holding in the low-60s with upside in New Orleans toward the mid-60s as the 2026 events calendar lands. Rate, not occupancy, remains the lever: ADR growth should normalize into the low single digits, keeping RevPAR roughly flat-to-modestly-positive on a clean comp basis. Operators who over-index to compression nights (festivals, conventions, gaming events) will outperform the blended average.
On supply, the 12–24 month picture is benign. Active construction (≈2,280 rooms, est.) is spread across select-service and casino-adjacent product and is largely pre-absorbed by event and industrial demand. The Omni HQ hotel is the structural wildcard — at 1,000 keys it will meaningfully reshape New Orleans' upper-tier compression dynamics, but not until ~2029. Investment activity should stay selective: full-service New Orleans assets continue to clear at premium per-key pricing, while select-service and extended-stay trades in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport-Bossier price on in-place cash flow. Risk skews to softer midweek corporate demand and any pullback in the energy cycle affecting Lafayette and Baton Rouge.
Sources & Assumptions
Every grounded source and every estimated figure, surfaced for audit. Figures marked “est.” throughout the report are researched or modeled estimates, not official prints.
Data Sources
- HVS — New Orleans lodging market recoveryOccupancy trajectory (low-70s pre-pandemic to high-50s/low-60s), Super Bowl LIX demand surge and 2026 comp effect, 2026 events calendar.https://www.hvs.com/article/9789-the-continued-recovery-of-the-new-orleans-lodging-market
- HVS — Baton Rouge hotel marketOccupancy 70% (2016) → 57% (2024); record ADR ~$104; +22 properties 2016–24 (19% count, ~6% rooms); industrial demand.https://www.hvs.com/article/10156-baton-rouge-hotel-market-navigating-the-path-to-recovery
- Hotel Dive / Hotel Management — Omni convention HQ hotel1,000-key Omni HQ hotel approved Jan 2025; ~$500M; breaks ground 2026, opens ~2029.https://www.hoteldive.com/news/omni-new-orleans-convention-hotel/717363/
- Biz New Orleans — renovations & expansionsDoubleTree by Hilton $5M renovation (367 rooms) completing 2026; CBD/St. Charles pipeline clustering.https://bizneworleans.com/new-orleans-hotels-renovations-expansions/
- KSLA / CDC Gaming — Shreveport-Bossier gamingLive! Casino & Hotel Bossier opened Feb 2025; visitation +19.2% (Feb–Jul '25); casino revenue +29.3% YoY in Oct.https://www.ksla.com/2025/09/03/casino-revenue-shreveport-bossier-up-largely-due-live-casino/
- CBRE Hotels / CoStar–Tourism Economics — U.S. figures & 2026 forecastNational benchmarks (occupancy ~63%, ADR ~$160, RevPAR ~$101); modest rate-led 2026 growth; downgraded forecast.https://www.cbre.com/insights/figures/q1-2026-us-hotel-figures
Estimates & Methodology
- All headline KPIs (occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, total supply, rooms under construction, $/key) are est. — blended across the four covered submarkets in a CoStar/STR-style aggregation; not an official market print.
- 12-quarter time series (occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, new supply, net demand, inventory) is est./modeled, calibrated to reported directional facts (high-50s/low-60s NOLA occupancy, record 2024 ADR, the Q1 '25 Super Bowl LIX spike).
- Submarket room counts, occupancy, ADR, RevPAR and under-construction figures are est., anchored to reported occupancy/ADR levels where available.
- Q2 2026 values are estimates for a quarter still in progress; latest hard data points are Q1 2026 / full-year 2025.
- Statewide totals cover only New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport-Bossier — not every Louisiana submarket (e.g., Lake Charles, Alexandria/Monroe excluded).
- The Transactions (Sales) table is illustrative/modeled — representative of recent Louisiana trades, not confirmed individual deals. Verify comps before publication.
- Pipeline rooms-under-construction (2,280, est.) exclude the 1,000-key Omni HQ hotel, which has not yet broken ground.
- The state map is a stylized, approximate SVG for orientation only — not to geographic scale.
Your Hospitality Team
Local expertise for buyers, sellers, and investors across the Gulf South hotel market. Reach out to discuss valuations, dispositions, or acquisition opportunities.
With over 25 years of experience in real estate, Manish is one of the select agents simultaneously holding the industry's highest hotel and real estate certifications — a CHA and a CCIM. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, he earned his MBA from Louisiana State University and has been active in hotel development since the early 2000s, building strong relationships with operators, vendors, and franchisers across the Gulf region.
Currently director of 40+ family-owned commercial properties across Southern Louisiana, Manish draws on his owner/operator experience to maximize value for clients. He was named 2017 Regional Newcomer of the Year at his prior national brokerage, and in 2023 ranked Top 10 in regional sales volume — consistently surpassing regional hotel price-per-room sales records.
Asha is a Baton Rouge–based commercial real estate agent specializing in hospitality and investment properties. As part of the hotel brokerage team at Stirling Properties, she works with owners and investors across the Gulf South on acquisitions and dispositions.
With a background in residential and commercial real estate plus property management, Asha understands both the transactional and operational sides of the business — evaluating hotels as operating companies, with a focus on performance, efficiency, and long-term value.
Known for her patience, strong work ethic, and straightforward approach, Asha builds lasting relationships rooted in trust and clear communication. Her goal is simple: help owners maximize value and help investors move forward with confidence.