​The hotel market in the month of April 2021 showed dramatic improvement compared to one year ago. Minnesota’s statewide RevPAR of $39.18 in April marked a year-over-year increase of more than 200% against the month of April 2020. Year-to-date RevPAR in Minnesota, however, lagged 2020 RevPAR through April by 13.1%. National year-to-date RevPAR, by comparison, was down 6.0% through April. 

Duluth continued to lead the state in April with $50.85 RevPAR. The Duluth market’s year-to-date RevPAR in 2021 measured 19.0% higher than the first four months of 2020, driven by a 16.5% increase in occupancy in 2021. 

The Minneapolis-St. Paul market extended its run of improved performance in April with a 23.0% month-over-month increase in RevPAR compared to March 2021. The Bloomington market led the metro area in April with occupancy exceeding 50% for the month. Through April, the Twin Cities’ year-to-date RevPAR is still 28.6% below the level recorded in the first four months of 2020, as the industry’s gradual recovery will continue into the summer.

​The state of Minnesota recorded a year-over-year RevPAR increase of 13.6% in March 2021 compared to March of the previous year, when business closures for the COVID-19 pandemic initially went into effect. This year-over-year increase, however, lagged the national average, which showed a 34.4% improvement in RevPAR for the month of March 2021. 

Greater Minnesota markets, led by Duluth and Rochester, continued to outperform the Twin Cities. Duluth remained the top performing market in the state with year-to-date RevPAR of $40.00 through March, which is just 7% below the level that Duluth recorded in the first quarter of 2020. 

The Minneapolis-St. Paul market continued to gradually improve, recording its strongest month of the year in March 2021. The market’s RevPAR in March of $29.85 represented nearly a 50% increase from just two months prior. For the fourth consecutive month, going back to December 2020, every submarket in the Twin Cities has increased both its RevPAR and occupancy levels.

​Hotel performance in the new year continued a gradual upward trend in Minnesota, with February 2021 occupancy recorded at 34.4%. The state’s February RevPAR of $29.09 represented a 46.4% year-over-year decrease compared to the same month in 2020, which was the last month before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was widely felt in Minnesota. 

The top performing markets in the state during the month of February 2021 were Rochester and Duluth, each with RevPAR at nearly $40. The national average, by comparison, was $44.57 RevPAR in February 2021, although this figure was nearly 45% lower than national RevPAR in February 2020. 

The Minneapolis-St. Paul market continued to lag the rest of the state’s performance. Although the Minneapolis CBD remained the lowest performer with 18.7% occupancy, no submarket in the Twin Cities recorded RevPAR higher than $30 in the month of February. Year-to-date 2021 RevPAR in the Twin Cities through the month of February was 60.8% lower than the first two months of 2020.

​Minnesota’s hotel market began the new year with continued, gradual improvement over previous months’ performance, with statewide occupancy recorded at 30.6% in January 2021. Although this figure represented a 34.7% decrease from the same month of the previous year, it was a significant step up from December 2020 levels in the state. Minnesota’s statewide occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR in January 2021, however, all lagged national averages.  

The state’s top performing market in January was Rochester with $35.79 RevPAR. Rochester and other greater Minnesota markets like Duluth and St. Cloud recorded relatively minor downward adjustment to ADR in January 2021 compared to the 29.2% year-over-year decrease in ADR that the Minneapolis-St. Paul market experienced. 

January 2021 occupancy and RevPAR levels in the Twin Cities represented month-over-month improvements of 11.0% and 15.3%, respectively, as the market continued a gradual recovery through the winter months.