(File photo)

Thanks mainly to the Super Bowl, hotel occupancies and average daily rates at Baton Rouge hotels increased last week compared to the same time last year.

Baton Rouge hotels had an average occupancy of 62.3% the week of the big game, according to Laura Cating of Visit Baton Rouge. 

Last Saturday’s occupancy was 76.5%—the equivalent of a non-SEC game day weekend in Baton Rouge.

Friday and Saturday occupancy numbers increased 15.9% compared to the same week in 2024. Sunday’s occupancy numbers will be available next week, but VBR expects they will equal Saturday’s.

Cating tells Daily Report that New Orleans hotels had been booked for six months or more, primarily by corporations that decide months ahead of time to be at the Super Bowl for marketing purposes. The crunch left fans searching for hotel rooms at the last minute and looking outside of the New Orleans metro area.

Events unrelated to the Super Bowl, such as the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals conference at the Crowne Plaza, also brought business to the area. 

The average daily was $126.05 for the week, with Friday and Saturday averaging $164.98. This represented a 20.8% increase compared to the same week in 2024.

Short-term rentals saw a 43% increase in guest check-ins and a 7% increase in guest nights. Airbnb recently named Baton Rouge one of the top 25 trending places to visit in 2025.

VBR spent just under $10,000 on a targeted digital ad campaign in the Philadelphia and Kansas City markets to encourage fans to book in Baton Rouge for the Super Bowl. Early data shows the campaign received more than 1.3 million impressions.