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.
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.
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