U.S. hotel occupancy reaches 70.7% for October 11 to 17, up 3.1% on last year

U.S. hotels filled 70.7% of their rooms in the week of October 11 to 17, 2026, a rise of 3.1% over the matching week in 2025, according to CoStar data^[1]. Average daily rate climbed 2.3% to $177.65, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) gained 5.5% to $125.53^[1].

Where the week moved most

The national number hides large local differences. Among the 25 biggest markets, Detroit posted the strongest increase in occupancy, up 12.2% to 74.1%, and in RevPAR, up 20% to $108.85^[1]. The Battery Show North America helped drive the Detroit result^[2].

San Diego was the only major market with a double-digit rise in average daily rate, up 12.6% to $246.06^[1]. Its RevPAR grew 18.5% to $199.14, the second largest gain among the major markets^[2].

San Francisco went the other way. Its average daily rate fell 23.4% to $283.18, the sharpest drop in the group^[1]. RevPAR there declined 21.2% to $242.73, because the 2025 comparison week included Dreamforce^[2]. That is a calendar effect, not a sign that demand in the city collapsed this year.

What the numbers mean for housekeeping

Occupancy measures occupied rooms as a share of available rooms. It does not tell you how many rooms needed a full clean, how many were stayovers, or how many guests checked out on a given day. A week with higher occupancy can still bring fewer departures if guests stay longer, and a convention week can push most check-outs into one or two days.

That is why a national or market figure should not be turned into a staffing plan for a single property. A Detroit hotel near the show venue and one across town may have had very different weeks. The useful step is to set the regional trend next to your own records: the daily count of check-out rooms, stayover rooms, and the hours your team or your contractor actually worked.

Rate also matters for the budget conversation. When RevPAR rises faster than occupancy, as it did nationally this week, more revenue is coming from price, not only from more rooms to clean. Housekeeping labor follows rooms, not rate, so check both lines separately when you review the week.

ARPCLEAN take

What does this mean for housekeeping?

For hotels

• Own room counts: pull the daily check-out and stayover counts for October 11 to 17 and compare them with scheduled housekeeping hours.
• Event weeks: note trade shows and conventions in your market, such as the Detroit show, so next year's schedule starts from real departure patterns.
• Year-over-year comparisons: flag weeks where last year's event, like Dreamforce in San Francisco, distorts the comparison before using it in a budget.

For cleaning contractors

• Per-room billing: match the rooms you invoiced for that week against the hotel's check-out and stayover counts.
• Crew planning: base staffing on each property's own departure schedule, not on the market occupancy figure.

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