Here’s a snapshot of how some major U.S. metros fared over the last year and where 2010 bargains may be found, according to data from Smith Travel Research (STR).
Washington, D.C., has held its own, according to Lana Yoshii, vice president of STR.
"Washington, D.C., was only down 3 percent in occupancy—that was really impressive," Yoshii says. "Compare that to Orlando, which got socked by being down over 8 percent in occupancy."
Yoshii says one market that got hit particularly hard was Dallas, which was down more than 12 percent in occupancy in 2009 due to a large number of rooms coming on-line.
In terms of rates, D.C. was down a relatively low 5 percent in average daily rate (ADR) in 2009, but New York City saw its ADR plunge approximately 22 percent during the same time period.
"There was shopping to be had in New York City in 2009," Yoshii says. "That was by far the biggest swing in terms of ADR. The next-highest decline was in Phoenix, which was down more than 15 percent."
Although New York may be a bargain at present, the hotel community is typically quick to adjust in the Big Apple, according to Yoshii.
"New York is quick to discount heavily, but also quick to jack up rates, but it might still be a pretty good buy—for New York," she says.
According to statistics from STR, Chicago fell more than 10 percent in occupancy and was down nearly 15 percent in ADR in 2009.
Looking to the future supply situation, New York as of December had more than 12,000 rooms under construction, Yoshii says, and Las Vegas had 4,700 rooms being built (not including the massive CityCenter project, which opened in November).
"With all those rooms coming in, discounting is probably still going to be heavy," Yoshii says.
"I think there’s still some negative perception in effect in some of these key markets. They might have a little harder time to recover in terms of pricing," she adds. "Assuming supply is not going to be an issue, secondary major markets might be able to make up their lost rate faster than those other markets that are perceived as being expensive."
