Occupancy Drops But Prices Don’t

The room occupancy rate at Orange County’s hotels and motels dropped to 70.7% from 71.9% in the 10 months ending in October, 1987 compared to the year-earlier period, according to Pannell Kerr Forster, an accounting and hotel consulting firm. The average daily room rate rose to $69.90 from $68.46.

The airport-Newport Beach area was the only one of four county areas that registered an increase in occupancy. The tourist-rich Anaheim area showed a 2% drop, but it still had the highest occupancy rate, 75.5%.

Hotel rooms in the county are a relative bargain compared to other California cities. A separate survey of average room rates in the first 9 months of last year showed that San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles all were more expensive to stay in than Orange County.

COMPARING AREAS IN STATE

Average daily room rate for 9 months ended Sept. 30, 1988

Orange County: $69.61

Los Angeles: 72.07

San Diego: 77.22

San Francisco: 86.41

HOTEL-MOTEL OCCUPANCY IN COUNTY

January through October for each year

PERCENT AVERAGE DAILY DOUBLE OCCUPANCY OCCUPANCY ROOM RATE FACTOR Region 1988 1987 1988 1987 1988 1987 Anaheim 75.5% 77.5% $69.11 $67.95 2.11 2.08 Airport/Newport Beach 65.1 64.6 74.23 71.99 1.43 1.41 North Orange County 64.9 66.4 45.81 47.13 1.61 1.55 South Orange County 68.2 73.8 91.01 88.10 1.56 1.56 TOTAL 70.7 71.9 69.90 68.46 1.83 1.81

Source: Pannell Kerr Forster

AVERAGE DAILY FOOD & BEV. SALES AVERA GUEST RATE PER OCCUPIED ROOM CHECK Region 1988 1987 1988 1987 1988 Anaheim $32.70 $32.72 $39.93 $40.11 $10.52 Airport/Newport Beach 51.92 51.11 54.92 53.09 14.04 North Orange County 28.48 30.50 28.48 27.53 6.96 South Orange County 58.36 56.62 58.35 52.90 11.59 TOTAL 38.11 37.88 44.43 43.67 11.49

GE FOOD PER MEAL Region 1987 Anaheim $10.13 Airport/Newport Beach 13.11 North Orange County 6.69 South Orange County 10.71 TOTAL 10.89

Source: Pannell Kerr Forster