US hotel occupancy hits 71.1% in mid September as Chicago and Washington lead gains

US hotel occupancy averaged 71.1% in the week of Sept. 13 to 19, 2026, which is 4.4% higher than in the same September week last year^[1]. That figure is a percent change, not a gain of 4.4 percentage points. For housekeeping teams, a busier week nationally is a prompt to look back at whether staffing kept pace with the rooms that actually needed cleaning.

Where the gains were largest

The strongest results came from a few big city markets. Chicago led the 25 biggest US markets on price: its average daily rate climbed 28.2% to $257.66, and revenue per available room jumped 41.8% to $226.18^[1]. A large trade event, the International Manufacturing Technology Show, gave the city much of that boost^[1].

In Washington, DC, occupancy grew faster than in any other large market, rising 10.7% to 82.3%. Its RevPAR climbed 23.9% to $194.23, a gain second only to Chicago^[1]. More broadly, RevPAR went up in 21 of those 25 markets^[1].

What the numbers do and do not tell housekeeping

Occupancy measures the share of available rooms that were sold. It does not tell you how many rooms your team cleaned. Overnight stays, rooms to clean and check-out rooms are different things. A week with many multi-night guests produces more stayover service and fewer full departure cleans, while a trade show crowd that arrives and leaves on the same days can create sharp check-out peaks that fall on one or two shifts.

These are also regional and national averages. They cannot be turned into a staffing forecast for any single hotel. A property near a convention center may have run far above its market average, while another hotel in the same city may have seen little change.

What the data can do is flag weeks worth reviewing. If your hotels are in Chicago or Washington, DC, or in one of the many markets where revenue rose, compare your own departure and stayover counts for that week with the hours you scheduled. Look for overtime, rooms released late to the front desk, and days when rooms were left unserviced. Those are the signs that staffing lagged demand.

Rate gains matter for the finance side as well. Higher room revenue does not automatically change what a hotel pays for cleaning, but it is useful context when hotels and contractors discuss staffing levels for event weeks. Check your own contract terms and talk with your advisor before drawing conclusions about pricing.

ARPCLEAN take

What does this mean for housekeeping?

For cleaning contractors

• Review event weeks: pull your mid September room counts and hours for each hotel and note where overtime or late room release occurred.
• Plan for trade shows: add major convention dates in your markets to your staffing calendar so peak check-out days get extra crew.

For hotels

• Separate the counts: compare actual check-outs and stayovers for Sept. 13 to 19 with scheduled housekeeping hours, not just occupancy.
• Talk early: share upcoming event dates with your housekeeping team or contractor so staffing can be agreed before the rush.

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