No matter how you measure it, these are times of recovery for the U.S. hotel industry. Levels are up in occupancy, ADR (average daily rate) and RevPAR (revenue per available room), according to recent data from Smith Travel Research (STR).
As an example, year-over-year comparisons posted by STR for the week of Dec. 4-11, 2011 showed nationwide hotel occupancies rising by 3.2 percent to 53.5 percent and ADR increasing by 6.9 percent to $54.65.
Looking at STR figures for the top 25 hotel markets, cities in the South experienced both the most dramatic rise and fall in hotel occupancies during that period. New Orleans led the pack with occupancies rising by 16.3 percent to 69.8 percent; followed by Houston, up 13.1 percent to 64.5 percent; and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., up by 11.1 percent to 57.3 percent.
New Orleans is also the winner when it comes to ADR, posting a whopping 25.1 percent rise to $136.23. San Diego saw an impressive 20 percent increase to $134.11.
By contrast, rates dipped in Orlando by 6.8 percent, falling to $89.99, while Anaheim, Calif., saw rates fall to $106.66, a decrease of 3 percent.
