Caribbean Hotel Occupancy Keeps Climbing in 2026, New Data Shows

By: - May 19th, 2026
hotels in curacao
Caribbean hotels keep performing well.

Caribbean hotels continued their strong run in 2026, with occupancy climbing throughout the first four months of the year and regional resorts continuing to post higher room rates and stronger revenue performance, according to new data from hotel analytics firm STR.

The latest numbers showed particularly strong momentum in March and April, even as hotels across the region continue expanding inventory with new resorts and additional rooms coming online.

March produced the strongest occupancy performance of the year so far, with Caribbean hotels reaching 79.6 percent occupancy, up 6.3 percent compared to March 2025.

April followed with another solid gain. Caribbean hotels posted 73.9 percent occupancy in April, up 5.8 percent year over year, according to STR.

The region also continued to generate higher room rates during the first four months of the year.

Average daily rate reached $447.32 in January, followed by $458.25 in February and $460.45 in March. In April, Caribbean hotels reported an average daily rate of $394.79, up 1.2 percent compared to the same month last year.

Revenue per available room — one of the hotel industry’s key performance metrics — also continued to rise across the region.

Hotels generated $321.98 RevPAR in January, up 9.3 percent year over year. February reached $350.36, a 10.6 percentincrease, while March climbed to $366.51, up 12.3 percent compared to March 2025.

April RevPAR came in at $291.74, representing a 7.1 percent increase over April last year.

The region’s hotel sector also continued producing major room revenue totals during the period.

Caribbean hotels generated approximately $2.69 billion in room revenue in January, followed by $2.64 billion in February. March produced the strongest monthly total of the year so far, with hotels across the region generating more than $3.03 billion in room revenue, up 10.3 percent year over year.

April hotels generated roughly $2.34 billion in room revenue, representing a 5 percent increase compared to April 2025.

The gains are coming even as room supply across the region continued to expand slightly during the period, reflecting continued resort development activity in destinations including The Bahamas, Jamaica, Aruba, Curaçao, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Demand across the Caribbean has remained resilient heading into the summer travel season, supported by continued airlift growth from the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Several major airlines have added new Caribbean frequencies and routes in recent months, particularly to destinations with strong luxury and all-inclusive resort sectors.

STR’s Caribbean census included just over 2,068 hotel properties and approximately 267,574 rooms in April 2026.

The regional benchmarking sample showed STR participation levels ranging from 31.2 percent to 35.4 percent of Caribbean rooms during the first four months of the year.

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