Merrill, Tomahawk and Antigo, WI hotel market report, Q3 2026

Merrill, Tomahawk and Antigo are read here as one combined Northwoods hotel market: no single town has enough STR-reporting hotels for a reliable read on its own. Together they hold 14 hotels and 529 rooms in Lincoln and Langlade counties, and they are performing well: 49.5% occupancy, a $110.63 ADR and $54.77 RevPAR over the last twelve months, with RevPAR +5.7% on the year and no new hotels coming.

Executive summary

The three markets are pooled in one CoStar Search Analytics set, which gives a defensible view of 14 tracked hotels, 529 rooms and a 555-room reporting pool across Lincoln and Langlade counties in north-central Wisconsin.

Trailing 12-month occupancy is 49.5% (+2.6% on the year), ADR reached $110.63 (+3.1%) and RevPAR climbed to $54.77 (+5.7%). Rate is the main engine of RevPAR growth, and ADR and RevPAR both sit above their 10-year typical ranges: durable pricing power in a supply-constrained rural market.

The defining feature is the complete absence of new supply. CoStar reports zero rooms under construction, in final planning or proposed. With demand from both Northwoods leisure travel and a deep regional manufacturing base, the fixed room count gives existing owners real downside protection and supports continued rate discipline.

The market

The three cities form a compact rural lodging corridor in north-central Wisconsin. Merrill (about 9,000 people) is the seat of Lincoln County, about 20 miles north of Wausau, the region's economic hub, on the US-51 corridor. Tomahawk (about 3,400) is about 30 miles farther north in Lincoln County, a gateway to the Northwoods lakes. Antigo (about 7,800) is the seat of Langlade County, about 35 miles east of Merrill where US-45 meets State Highway 64. Together they anchor a trade area of about 20,000 residents, with the Wausau metro (about 165,000) the nearest full-service commercial center.

The economy rests on manufacturing and insurance as much as tourism. Merrill is home to Church Mutual Insurance Company, one of the region's largest private employers, along with a dense cluster of wood-products, window and door, and footwear manufacturers. Antigo and Langlade County host a nationally significant wood-products cluster, more than 125 businesses employing about 9,000 workers, plus defense and precision-manufacturing firms. That industrial base brings steady weekday commercial stays that complement the strong seasonal leisure market.

New supply

Under construction. No hotels are under construction in Merrill, Tomahawk or Antigo. CoStar reports zero rooms under construction and zero rooms delivered over the last twelve months.

Proposed or in planning. No hotels are proposed or in final planning anywhere in the combined market, and there are no announced or permitted lodging projects in either county.

Room supply is effectively fixed. Existing owners face no new-supply threat, which supports occupancy stability and continued rate growth.

Demand drivers

Demand across the three cities is unusually balanced for a rural market, split between year-round commercial and manufacturing travel and a strong seasonal Northwoods leisure market. That mix is a key reason occupancy has held up through economic cycles.

Leisure and outdoor recreation. The Northwoods setting is the largest single source of demand. Lakes, rivers and long ATV/UTV and snowmobile trail networks drive weekend and seasonal stays, peaking in summer (June-August) with a second, winter snowmobiling season. Hunting, fishing and fall color fill the shoulder seasons. CoStar's monthly data confirms the pattern: occupancy roughly doubles from winter lows in the mid-30s to summer highs in the mid-60s.

Commercial and manufacturing. The region's manufacturing depth (Church Mutual, wood-products firms, window and door makers, footwear, and Antigo's defense and precision-manufacturing base) brings steady weekday contractor, vendor and corporate-visitor stays that fill rooms outside the leisure season.

Highway transient. US-51, US-45 and WI-64 carry steady pass-through traffic between Wausau and the Northwoods, a reliable base of overnight stays.

Group, events and government. County-seat government in both Merrill and Antigo, regional healthcare, youth sports and community events round out the mix.

Performance

Every figure here is from CoStar Group as of August 2026. Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR are measured on CoStar's 555-room reporting pool; market size is the 529 inventory rooms in 14 tracked hotels. The two differ modestly because the pool counts only actively reporting hotels.

Year-to-date figures cover only January to June and are held down by the slow winter months; the trailing 12-month figures are the best read of the market's health.

Seasonality is pronounced. Occupancy bottoms out near 32-37% in January and March, builds through spring and peaks at about 64-67% from June through August before tapering in the fall. ADR follows the same curve, cresting near $120 at the summer peak. The 2026 months so far are running ahead of 2025 on both occupancy and rate, consistent with the positive year-over-year trailing figures.

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Brands and franchise presence

The 14 tracked hotels are mostly midscale and economy, typical of rural Wisconsin lodging corridors. Wyndham brands (AmericInn and Super 8) are the backbone of the market, with Cobblestone, a few Choice and Best Western flags, and several independent Northwoods motels.

The room counts are illustrative estimates that add up to CoStar's market total of 529 rooms; each hotel's count should be confirmed against a full CoStar inventory export.

Wyndham is the leading franchise family, reflecting the strength of AmericInn and Super 8 in rural Wisconsin. Independents remain a meaningful share, as you would expect in a Northwoods leisure market where owner-run motels near lakes and trails keep loyal seasonal followings.

The market's size and its midscale rate ceiling (a $110 ADR) limit realistic white space to a single upper midscale flag, most plausibly a Holiday Inn Express or Comfort Inn & Suites in Antigo or Merrill, rather than any full-service or premium development.

Risks and headwinds

A thin reporting pool and a small market. With only 14 hotels across three towns pooled to reach statistical reliability, one hotel's performance can swing the numbers. A single new or renovated hotel, or one closure, would move the combined averages materially.

Seasonality and revenue concentration. Occupancy nearly doubles from the winter trough to the summer peak. Owners depend heavily on a compressed June-September window, and a weak summer (poor weather, soft travel) hits annual results hard.

Manufacturing exposure. Weekday commercial demand is tied to a manufacturing base (wood products, windows and doors, footwear, defense) that is cyclical and sensitive to national industrial conditions, tariffs and input costs.

A rate ceiling. ADR at $110.63 is already at an all-time high and above the 10-year typical range. Further rate gains may be harder, which makes future RevPAR growth more dependent on occupancy, itself near its cyclical peak.

Rural demographics. A flat to declining rural population and workforce limits can squeeze hotel labor and the long-run growth of underlying demand.

Outlook and opportunities

Near term (next 12 months). The outlook is stable to positive. With zero new supply and demand from both leisure and manufacturing, occupancy should hold near its current cyclical high of about 49-50% and ADR should keep making modest gains, keeping RevPAR at or above today's $54.77. The biggest single-year swing factor is summer leisure.

Medium term (1-3 years). With no pipeline, supply-driven pressure is unlikely. RevPAR growth will lean more on rate, already at record levels, so gains should slow toward inflation-like increases. Fixed supply and an 11.2% cap rate make this an attractive market for a value-minded buyer seeking stable, defensible cash flow rather than growth.

Key opportunities

• Supply-protected acquisition. A zero pipeline and a high going-in cap rate (11.2%) offer durable, defensible cash flow for a value buyer.
• Rate optimization on independents. Independent and older-flagged motels running below the $110 market ADR have revenue-management and light-repositioning upside.
• One upper midscale white space. A Holiday Inn Express or Comfort Inn & Suites in Antigo or Merrill is the one realistic new-build or conversion niche.

Download the underwriting model to run your own numbers on a Northwoods hotel.

Key takeaways

1. Combined for reliability. No single town has enough STR-reporting hotels, so Merrill, Tomahawk and Antigo are pooled into one 14-hotel, 529-room market that gives a statistically defensible read.
2. Every measure rising, led by rate. Trailing occupancy (49.5%), ADR ($110.63) and RevPAR ($54.77) are all up on the year, RevPAR the most at +5.7%. ADR and RevPAR sit above their 10-year typical ranges.
3. Zero new supply. No rooms are under construction, in planning or proposed. Fixed supply is the market's defining strength and supports stable occupancy and continued rate discipline.
4. Balanced, resilient demand. An unusual-for-rural mix of Northwoods leisure and a deep manufacturing base spreads demand across the seasons, though summer remains the critical revenue window.
5. A value market, not a growth market. An 11.2% cap rate, a $47.3K per-room basis and record rates make this an attractive supply-protected acquisition for a buyer who puts stable cash flow ahead of fast growth.

Own a hotel in Merrill, Tomahawk, Antigo or the Northwoods? Request a hotel valuation and we'll tell you what it would sell for, or ask for a market report on your own market.

Sources and method. Performance figures (occupancy, ADR, RevPAR), inventory, pipeline, cap rate and sale price per room are from CoStar Group Search Analytics for the combined Merrill / Tomahawk / Antigo market, dated August 2026, on a 555-room reporting pool. The 12-month trailing figure is used for every annual trend point. Employers, demographics, demand composition, brand mix and franchise gaps come from public research and industry sources and are approximate; individual hotel room counts should be confirmed against a full CoStar inventory export. Chart values from the report's trend and monthly charts are read from the charts, as noted.

Prepared by Reed Gizinski, Hotel Data Tracking, for information only. It is not an appraisal or a valuation and is not investment advice.