Quarterly Hotel Update, as of September 2025 (Q3)
As you will see from our regional aggregated hotel charts, summer of 2025 saw one of the strongest seasons ever recorded for our region. Hotel metrics were exceptional through July, August, and September, with August 2025 standing out as the single best month in CCT’s reporting history. Though Occupancy wasn’t at its highest in August 2025, all of the other three measurements were. (Revenue, Average Daily Rate and Revenue per Available Room). This analysis breaks down what happened, why it matters, and how tourism stakeholders, i.e. hotels, attractions, restaurants, DMOs and Municipalities), can use these insights to grow our industry even further.
Q3 2025 Performance Highlights
The third quarter (July–September) is always the busiest time for tourism in our region, and 2025 exceeded expectations.
Here are the key numbers:
- Occupancy Rate:
- July: 84.38%
- August: 86.56%
- September: 78.97%
What this means: Hotels were nearly full in July and August, and even September stayed strong. Overnight visitors often spend money while visiting which means that other businesses saw increased revenue in their own cash registers too – showing peak-season demand in our region.
- Revenue:
- July: $44.59 million
- August: $49.46 million – Highest in CCT’s reporting history!
- September: $39.86 million
Why it matters: August 2025 was the highest revenue month ever recorded in our region’s history. This is a major milestone, because it demonstrates the demand for our accommodations and a reduction in price sensitivity.
- ADR (Average Daily Rate):
- July: $192.31
- August: $205.58 – Highest in CCT’s reporting history!
- September: $190.96
Insight: This past August was the first time the aggregated ADR for our region was over $200 per room. Hotels use many factors to determine their daily room rates, which is a very fine balance between maximizing higher % occupancies vs higher/lower revenue. August 2025 Occupancy % was only 0.5% lower than August 2024 (86.6% vs 87.1%); however, August 2025 ADR was $7.42 (3.7%) higher than August 2024 ADR. If you factor inflation into the comparison, August 2025 ADR was $1.62 (0.8%) higher than August 2024! Essentially, hotels successfully raised rates during peak periods while maintaining strong demand (% occupancy); and guests were still willing to pay more than ever, especially in August.
- RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room):
- July: $162.26
- August: $177.96 – Highest in CCT’s reporting history!
- September: $150.80
Takeaway: Hotels maximized revenue per room, especially in August with its highest RevPAR in CCT’s reporting history; due to a perfect strategic balance between high occupancy and strong competitive pricing.
Key Insights for all Tourism stakeholders
August as the ideal benchmark
Using hotel data as a reflection of our visitor economy, especially with August 2025 setting records for revenue, ADR and RevPAR, proves that travellers are willing to pay premium prices for quality experiences during peak season and future planning. However, caution should still be used when deciding your own pricing to yield both maximum profits and demand. For example, prices too high will decrease demand and create possible negative reviews.
July and August drive the visitor economy
Summers are the peak-season for our region, particularly these two months in Q3 (July – September); and it is important to protect this high level of demand for the region’s visitor economy as a destination of choice among our visitors.
September and the shoulder seasons show opportunity
Though it is doubtful that September will ever perform as well as July/August, our peak season, the months before and after (shoulder-season) are opportunities to extend the summer demand and reduce relying on just two months. The weather is still pleasant enough to take advantage of the outdoors in our region, prices are slightly lower than July/August, and many travellers without children can take advantage this time period.
Travellers value experiences
High ADRs show a willingness to pay a higher price and suggests that visitors are looking for more than just a basic room, either its the amenities offered or they simply want memorable experiences connected to their hotel stay. It is key to recognize the value of offering visitors the opportunities to get the most of their stay with unique experiences in our region, and drive demand.
Actionable Recommendations
For Hotels
Create shoulder-season packages & offer discounts:
Accommodators should bundle local experiences by partnering with other tourism stakeholders to encourage their visitors to stay longer, explore the region and spend more money to extend the shoulder-season as a whole. Offering reduced rates during the shoulder/off-seasons would alleviate some of the stress from the already busy peak-season and help grow the rest of the year.
For Attractions
Acknowledge the peak-season and help grow the shoulder-season:
Attractions are at capacity during the summer months, and rather than experiencing a huge drop in visitation after Labour Day, attractions should plan various activations to support and grow the shoulder-season. This could also take advantage of the late summer weather in the form of outdoor concerts/festivals/events, early Fall themes, and partnering with other tourism stakeholders too to build the size of the activation and get the word out to larger audiences. Plus, the type of visitors during the summer season might be different in the shoulder/off-season months.
For Restaurants and Retail
Seasonal Promotions:
Though applicable for all sectors, peak-season equals higher demand and higher revenue; whereas the shoulder-season (start of September) is an opportunity for travellers who are looking for discounts and often find it with less demand too. The F&B sector also often promotes the start of the Fall season with local harvest menus (e.g., pumpkin spice) and target travellers with more flexibility in their schedules. This would include travel for retirees, remote workers, and couples who prefer quieter experiences.
Strategic Opportunities
Extending the peak-season/building the shoulder-season:
It is clear that July and, in particular, August are the busiest time of the year for our region; Labour Day is the start of the shoulder-season and September is the key to reducing the impact of seasonality. By creating compelling events and/or packages; unique and high-quality experiences; and using dynamic pricing, tourism stakeholders can keep the momentum going beyond August. The result of these steps will increase visitation and grow the visitor economy in our region, levelling the stress of relying on two busy months.
Why This Matters
The visitor economy is a major economic driver for the region. The success of summer 2025 with record breaking hotel ADRs, RevPAR and revenues, shows the strong demand for visitation into our region visitors are spending time and money exploring the municipalities and supporting our stakeholders! Continued collaboration with a shared goal of boosting the industry as a whole, will keep our region top of mind for visitors.
Essentially, the quarterly numbers show potential to:
- Strategically increase revenue during peak months.
- Help reduce seasonality risk by building the shoulder-season demand, starting with September.
- Focus on enhancing visitor satisfaction through unique experiences.
- Continue to strengthen our region’s reputation as a top destination of choice in Ontario.
Looking ahead to what’s next
Though there are external factors that we cannot control (e.g., the weather, CAD $, and politics to name a few) and impact our successes, the challenge moving forward into 2026 is to maintain our successes and continue to grow. Summer 2025 was an exceptional peak-season, and the goals for Summer 2026 should be:
- Maintain a strong July and August
- Grow the shoulder-season (June and September) towards peak-season performance
- And keep pushing that momentum beyond into Q4.
In closing…
Summer 2025 set a milestone for the region’s visitor economy! August broke records, and July and September delivered strong complimentary results. This proves the region’s potential when demand, pricing, and experiences align. By focusing on dynamic pricing, shoulder-season strategies, and stakeholder collaboration, tourism businesses can keep this momentum going towards consistent growth year-round.
Click on the regional hotel reports below to see the Occupancy, Revenue, Average Daily Rate and Revenue Per Available Room for:
For further assistance in identifying your target markets, please contact Tom Guerquin, Manager of Research & Development at Central Counties Tourism.
Central Counties Tourism collects aggregated quarterly hotel data from Co-Star for the available properties within our region, and each quarter, share those metrics with you.
