Market Overview
Louisiana's lodging market has turned the corner into year-over-year growth. Entering Q4 2026, statewide blended occupancy sits in the low-60s (≈60.8%, est.), with ADR (≈$155, est.) and RevPAR (≈$94, est.) back in positive territory — a decisive shift from early 2026, when the market was lapping the Super Bowl LIX spike of February 2025. That comp is now fully behind the market: the distortion that dragged 2026 year-to-date prints has cleared, and the underlying demand story is reasserting itself.
New Orleans is the engine. During the spring 2026 festival season it posted the largest occupancy gain of any top-25 U.S. market (occupancy up roughly 19% to the low-70s in peak weeks, with RevPAR up sharply), and the 2026–27 convention cycle is strengthening. The city continues to command a rate premium (ADR ≈$184, est.) on leisure, festival, and group demand, tempered by the familiar summer slump that pulls Q3 occupancy into the high-50s. Baton Rouge holds near 57–58% occupancy on a record ADR (~$104–107) from government, LSU, and industrial/petrochemical demand; Shreveport-Bossier continues to digest the February 2025 opening of Live! Casino & Hotel; and Lafayette tracks the energy cycle and regional events.
The backdrop is a U.S. industry that has strung together 19+ consecutive weeks of year-over-year growth through late summer 2026 (national occupancy in the mid-to-high 60s, ADR near $160, RevPAR up low-to-mid single digits). Louisiana sits below those national averages on level but is now firmly in line on trajectory. The near-term supply picture is still manageable, with the headline item — the 1,000-key Omni convention headquarters hotel — now moving into early sitework for a ~2029 delivery, keeping its impact outside this report's 12–24 month window.
Headline Metrics
Blended statewide indicators across the four covered submarkets, with year-over-year change. Occupancy change is shown in percentage points; rate, supply, and pricing in percent.
Blended statewide; back to growth as the Super Bowl LIX comp fully clears.
Per occupied room/night, blended; rate discipline holding.
Revenue per available room; YoY positive again as 2026 laps the 2025 peak.
Existing room inventory across the four covered submarkets.
Excludes the 1,000-key Omni convention HQ hotel (early sitework; ~2029 open).
Trailing-12mo transactions; skewed by New Orleans full-service trades.
Performance Trends
Twelve quarters of statewide blended performance. The Q1 2025 spike reflects Super Bowl LIX demand in New Orleans — the comp that makes 2026 year-over-year prints look soft.
Occupancy Rate
est.Statewide blended, % of available rooms sold
ADR & RevPAR
est.Average daily rate vs. revenue per available room ($)
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 | 38,100 | 63.0% | $184 | $116 | 1,350 |
Baton Rouge Government, LSU, industrial | 9,250 | 57.5% | $107 | $62 | 350 |
Shreveport-Bossier Gaming, casino resorts | 7,850 | 57.0% | $96 | $55 | 450 |
Lafayette Energy, petrochemical, events | 6,420 | 58.0% | $99 | $57 | 180 |
| Statewide (covered) | 61,620 | 60.9% | $152 | $94 | 2,330 |
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 | New build | Early sitework underway; ~2029 open | 2026–29 |
| 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 | 2026–27 |
| Health District select-service hotelest. | 165 | Baton Rouge | New build | Under construction | Q1 '27 |
| 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 | $72.7M | $255,000 | New Orleans | Upper-upscale | Q3 2026 |
| French Quarter boutiqueest. | 130 | $42.9M | $330,000 | New Orleans | Luxury / lifestyle | Q2 2026 |
| Airport-corridor select-serviceest. | 124 | $15.5M | $125,000 | New Orleans | Upper-midscale | Q3 2026 |
| I-10 select-service portfolio (2 assets)est. | 210 | $21.5M | $102,500 | Baton Rouge | Midscale / extended-stay | Q2 2026 |
| Acadiana extended-stayest. | 110 | $10.1M | $92,000 | Lafayette | Extended-stay | Q1 2026 |
| Casino-adjacent limited-serviceest. | 150 | $12.3M | $82,000 | Shreveport-Bossier | Midscale | Q3 2026 |
Forward Outlook
Through the next 12 months we expect Louisiana to sustain modest, rate-led RevPAR growth now that the Super Bowl comp is lapped. Statewide occupancy should hold in the low-60s with New Orleans reaching the mid-60s in peak convention and festival periods as the 2026–27 cycle builds. ADR growth normalizes into the low single digits, keeping RevPAR positive on clean comps. The persistent soft spot is the New Orleans summer slump and midweek corporate demand; operators that over-index to compression nights (festivals, conventions, gaming events) will continue to outperform the blended average.
On supply, the 12–24 month picture stays benign even as the Omni HQ hotel moves from approval into early construction — at 1,000 keys it will reshape New Orleans' upper-tier compression dynamics, but not until ~2029. Active construction (≈2,450 rooms, est.) remains spread across select-service and casino-adjacent product that is largely pre-absorbed. Investment should stay selective and firm: full-service New Orleans assets continue to clear at premium per-key pricing on improving cash flow, while select-service and extended-stay trades in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport-Bossier price on in-place income. Risk skews to any national demand wobble and to 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
- CoStar / STR — U.S. weekly hotel performance (Q3 2026)U.S. industry posted 19+ consecutive weeks of YoY growth through late Aug 2026 (e.g., week of Aug 16–22: occ 66.7%, ADR ~$159, RevPAR ~$106, +4.4% YoY). New Orleans posted the largest top-25-market occupancy gain during spring festival weeks (occ +19% to ~73.7%, RevPAR +34%).https://www.hotel-online.com/news/us-hotels-extend-positive-performance-streak-to-19-straight-weeks
- HVS — New Orleans lodging marketOccupancy trajectory and normalization; Super Bowl LIX comp effect (now lapped); strengthening 2026–27 convention cycle; summer-slump seasonality.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; moving into early construction for a ~2029 opening.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 '25.https://www.ksla.com/2025/09/03/casino-revenue-shreveport-bossier-up-largely-due-live-casino/
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 (the Q1 '25 Super Bowl LIX spike and its now-lapped 2026 comp effect; New Orleans leading national occupancy gains in 2026).
- Submarket room counts, occupancy, ADR, RevPAR and under-construction figures are est., anchored to reported occupancy/ADR levels where available.
- Q4 2026 values are estimates for a quarter still in progress; the latest hard data points are Q3 2026 / YTD 2026.
- National context (19+ weeks of consecutive YoY growth; occ mid-to-high 60s; ADR ~$160) is reported from CoStar/STR weekly releases through late August 2026.
- 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 (2,450, est.) exclude the 1,000-key Omni HQ hotel, which is in early sitework for a ~2029 opening.
- 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.