Katarina Velazquez, Greeley Tribune
Things are looking up for Greeley’s hotels so far this year, thanks to the steady comeback of the oil and gas industry.
The city’s hotel occupancy rate and price per room are up compared with 2016 and 2015, according to June statistics from the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.
Robert Benton, who helped put together the lodging report, said the comeback of the oil and gas industry is a large reason why Greeley’s hotel market is on the rise. Rig counts are about double what they were a year ago.
“Greeley has been one of the stronger performers due to the energy markets, then energy places took a decline,” he said. “The hotel industry in Greeley is impacted by oil and gas trends, and the number of new wells is coming back, and activity has increased. That has had an positive impact on Greeley’s lodging market.”
According to the report, Greeley’s June hotel occupancy rate was 88.8 percent, and the average daily rate of a room was $110.32. The report showed Greeley had 16,549 available rooms and 14,700 of them were occupied throughout the month.
Greeley’s rate is the second highest in the state behind Denver, and Benton said occupancy rates are typically higher in the summer because of the added tourism. The Greeley Stampede also is a huge economic driver that occurs in Greeley in June, which likely helped drive that number up, as well.
The booming oil and gas industry in 2013 and 2014 pushed the demand for rooms way up, and Greeley’s occupancy rate rose as high as 90 percent in 2013, as energy workers needed a place to stay. That number took a dive after prices dropped and oil and gas activities slowed down, but the market is picking up again, ultimately benefiting Greeley’s hotels.
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