Another week of rough sledding for hotel owners

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Last week was another ghastly one for the hotel industry, researchers said Thursday, with occupancy and revenue again down substantially compared to a year ago at this time. Hotels along highways suffered less than all other types of properties, such as resorts and upscale urban inns.

Some cities were hurt less than others, with Washington, D.C., hotels only slightly worse off than last year while New York was the hardest hit among major markets, according to Smith Travel Research.

The hospitality industry measures success by calculating revenue per available room – RevPAR, they call it – by multiplying the occupancy rate of a hotel by the average daily room rate. By that measure, RevPAR for the week ending Aug. 8 was down 16.5% from a year ago nationwide. That was a tiny bit worse than the 15.5% dip reported the week before.

Luxury hotels are hurting the most, though their suffering is getting ‘less bad,’ according to Smith Travel. RevPAR at the top end was down 24.5% compared with declines of as much as 30% that took place during the second quarter.

In Los Angeles County, average RevPAR was down 21% from a year ago while Orange County was down 17%. Tourist mecca San Francisco was off 14.5%. Washington was down only 4.2%, but New York recorded a 29.4% drop.

--Roger Vincent