December 24, 2008
Hotel occupancy rates, prices dropping
With their occupancy rates falling faster than ever in November, Orlando's hoteliers slashed prices to try stopping the declines.
The average hotel in the Orlando market was 53 percent full last month, compared with 62.6 percent in November 2007, according to Smith Travel Research. That 15.2 percent decline was the largest one-month decrease the Orlando market has recorded since November 2001, after the 9-11 attacks.
Up until early fall, hoteliers had managed to hold room prices relatively steady with last year. But in November, the average daily price paid for a room declined 8.8 percent from November 2007.
As a result of the declining occupancy and falling prices, another key industry measure, revenue per available room, tumbled 22.7 percent.
Related links
-
Orange County Jail booking mugs -- updated daily
-
The latest breaking news ...
Deputies investigating suspicious death of DeBary woman
Police investigating suspicious death in DeLand
3-month-old nearly drowns near Kissimmee
Masked man robs Clermont branch of Trustco Bank
Beating, robbery suspects arrested at scene of Daytona Beach car crash
Family of slain lawyer suing ex-boyfriend charged with killing her
Commissioner Linda Stewart: 'I'm going to run' for Orange County mayor
Miami-Dade bus driver hits cyclist, keeps driving
Men armed with machete, baseball bat rob Deltona store
Fire destroys $2 million, ocean-front home in Ormond Beach
The Smith Travel survey does not include Walt Disney World hotels. The hardest-hit submarket in the survey was West Kissimmee, where occupancy was down 23.3 percent from a year ago and revenue per available room fell 32.5 percent. Orlando's primary tourist strip, International Drive, reported an average occupancy decline of 20.4 percent, even as room rates fell 9.7 percent.
Mixx it!
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
Front Page
My Best Shot More Reader Photos/Upload Your Own: Your Travel Photos | Theme Parks | Sunrises and Sunsets | Your Best Catch | Best of Nature | Bike Week | Spring Break | Fall Colors |
Popular stories: Travel
- Dewayne Bevil: New roller coasters to make debut in 2009
- Cirque du Soleil La Nouba celebrates 10 years at Disney
- Cirque du Soleil sends arena show Saltimbanco to Florida in 2009
- Tips for discovering Boston on a budget
- 5 Favorite Fishing Spots: Part 1 -- St. Johns River: salty and fresh
- Dewayne Bevil: New roller coasters to make debut in 2009
- Fort Lauderdale approves Air & Sea Show's return for 2010
- JetBlue's flights to Bogota, Colombia, to begin Jan. 21
- Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess: Innovative dining, activities mark line's new gem
- Cirque du Soleil sends arena show Saltimbanco to Florida in 2009
Travel, tourism, airline and airport news...
News Chief: Cypress Gardens' skiers performing around the world
Another city takes online travel companies to court over taxes
Analyst downgrades Disney, partly because of parks concerns
Disney buys into Russian television market
More Orlando Sentinel blogs
Travel Planning Tools
Newspaper Travel Sections
Travel Newsletter
Your Photos: Travel
Check out reader photos of their visits around the state, nation and world.
We encourage conversation about our stories and hope you will share your thoughts. We do have some rules of the road: no comments that are obscene, sexual in nature, racist or otherwise inappropriate. If you post such comments, we will remove them.
Note: Not all stories have active discussions. Click here to view all discussions