County Hotel Rates, Occupancy Decline

Hotel occupancy dropped in Orange County during February by 3.2% and room rates dropped 2.2%, compared to the same month last year, according to a monthly survey by a Los Angeles consulting firm.

The average hotel in Orange County rented 61.4% of its rooms on average in February, down from 63.4% last year, according to the PKF Consulting survey. The average room rate was $78.16, compared to $79.95 in February, 1992.

The Anaheim area had the biggest drop in occupancy, down 8.3% to 58.7%. By contrast, the South County area, which includes the beach resorts of Laguna Beach and Dana Point, was up by 8.7% to 72.1%.