April 2026 Data Update | The Spring Upswing: Hotels high performance, exciting new businesses and strong foot traffic

Denver’s Spring (and unofficial Summer) is here, and we’re seeing the Spring Upswing in action downtown. April foot traffic was at 95% of 2019 levels, an increase from April 2025. 16th Street’s average daily activity increased by 13% in April 2026, which is an increase of 24,000 more total visits compared to April of last year.

Increased activity was also felt during major sporting events, like Inter Miami with international star Lionel Messi versus the Colorado Rapids in Denver on April 18, 2026, at Empower Field at Mile High, and some of the convention centers biggest conventions, like the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting and the APS Global Physics Summit. These conventions brought nearly 25,000 researchers, dermatologists, industry experts, and healthcare professionals to the convention center last month.

Looking back to March, and despite not hosting major sporting events that month Denver hotel occupancy increased from 61% to 69% year-over-year. RevPAR increased from $118 in March 2025 to $150 in March 2026.  This strong month for hotels was complemented with the recent completion of the Hyatt Regency Denver’s $70 million renovations that introduced 1,100 reimagined rooms to downtown’s robust hospitality stock.

The office market saw a strong end to Q1 with nearly 83K sqft of net positive absorption and a 28.9% vacancy rate. Q2 2026 QTD has seen a slight increase in vacancy, 29.3%, as of April, with 122K sqft in current leasing activity. 

Several buildings downtown have completed renovations early in the year: CBRE renovated its 40,000 sqft downtown office, the Colorado Capitol annex invested $54M in its space, 17th Street Plaza is getting a $6M update to its lobby and outdoor plaza. And most recently, CU Denver was announced as under contract to buy Independence Plaza, a move that will bring energy and connection to the current and future workforce downtown.  

Downtown has welcomed 23 new businesses since the beginning of 2026.  April  saw  Olive & Finch open in the  Golden Triangle neighborhood. In Upper Downtown, Two Lazy Dogs opened off Champa Street. OGO Korean BBQ & Sushi Pronto is now operating in Union Station and Pipsqueak Coffee Kiosk is open.  Little Blue Pigeon opened in Larimer Square and  Broken Bow off of Lawrence.  On 16th Street, Mendicino Farms is now open!

For full charts, data visualizations, and deeper analysis, explore the complete April 2026 High Frequency Report. For data inquiries, please contact Analise Lajeunesse. For media inquiries, reach out to Britt Diehl.