Did You Know… St. Maarten Hotel Occupancy Grew Over 2024, Whereas Vacation Rental Occupancy Contracted?

(Picture Courtesy of Coral Beach Club)

2024 Hotel and Independent Vacation Rental Analysis

Over 2024, resort and boutique hotel occupancy on St. Maarten was 70.2%, whereas villas, apartment and condominiums (independent vacation rentals or IVR’s) had an average occupancy of 35%. For hotels, this is 5,4% higher compared to 2023 while the hotel room inventory itself grew with 200 rooms too. Average Independent Vacation Rental occupancy driven by AirBnB, VRBO and Booking .com was somewhat lower compared to 2023 with 3,9%.

These numbers were published by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) in an attempt to map the available lodging room inventory for visitors.

For the analysis of the independent vacation rental segment it cooperated with American data company Lighthouse. Independent vacation rentals have 2297 listings on the Dutch side, and 2827 on the French side. On the French side, independent vacation rentals have an occupancy of 40%.

Average Daily Rates IVRs

The average daily rate (ADR) for the non-hotel segment on the Dutch side is analyzed to be $389 per night over 2024, whereas on the French side an “IVR” stay goes for $488 a night.

Though exact ADRs on either side of the island for hotels are unknown, it is considerably lower. STR estimated the ADR for hotels to be at $407 per night for the Dutch side, but SHTA considers its sample too small and not representative. SHTA’s own occupancy samples at a minimum consist of 56% of the total hotel room count before they are published. ADR information is not collected, but estimated to be well lower than STR’s analysis.

The hotel room count on the French side is estimated at about 1100 rooms. Occupancy rates are not published.