Occupancy Rate in Anaheim jumped 2.3% in the First Two Weeks of October 2009

For the past two months, there have been signs that the hotel industry is starting to see some better days. The latest hotel industry data for the United States reveal the hotels across the country continue to struggle but in some areas, including Southern California, there are signs of improvement.

According to this article published by Los Angeles Times the hotel occupancy rate in the USA dropped by 5.4% in the first week of October compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the revenue per available room dropped by 12%, reaching $59.28.

The hardest hit was taken by business travel and, as a result, more than 300 hotels in California are in foreclosure. However, the report shows that business travel is starting to improve in some cities, including Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Orleans.

In Anaheim, the occupancy rate rose by 2.3% in the first two weeks of October and even the number of group bookings saw an increase. Also, in Los Angeles the number of group bookings rose by 18.1% in the first two weeks of October.

New Orleans reported increases in the three key indicators: occupancy rate, revenue per available room and average daily room rate.

Several months of good news

This data isn’t the first showing signs of improvement in the hotel industry world wide. Although during August only the hotels in Italy performed well in Europe, they were quickly followed by the Dubai hotels, which reported a 40% increase in occupancy rate in September.

And in the States, the good news started in September as well when six of the top 25 travel markets reported an increase in occupancy rate.

A conclusion

Although the data shows some improvements, the hotel experts don’t expect the hotel industry to rebound until 2011 or even 2012. However, travel managers forecast an increase in business travel next year.