Disney Promotion Gives Hotel Owners a Charge

It was summer in October for Orange County hotels, which posted blistering occupancy, thanks to huge crowds of tourists bidding farewell to Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade.

Visitors filled 77.2% of the county’s rooms in October, up sharply from the 66% occupancy recorded in October 1995, according to a survey by Los Angeles-based PKF Consulting. In Anaheim, hotel occupancy averaged a sizzling 81.2% in October, up from 68.4% in the same month a year ago.

Bill O’Connell, partner and general manager of four Best Western Stovall’s Inns in Anaheim, said his October occupancy topped 84% as parade fans snapped up rooms in anticipation of the electrical procession’s original closing Oct. 15. Disney eventually extended the parade’s run to Nov. 25, but the change did nothing to diminish the windfall of October hotel bookings in Anaheim.

“We were jampacked the first half of the month,” O’Connell said. “It was just incredible what Disney’s promotion did.”

Countywide occupancy from January through October averaged 76.5%, up from 71.9% over the first 10 months of 1995.

Tourists weren’t the only visitors crowding into Orange County hotels in October. Hotels around John Wayne Airport reported average occupancy of 71.9%, well above the 63.6% occupancy levels recorded in October 1995.

“Business travel has come back strong,” said Margo Repta, general manager of the Costa Mesa Marriott Suites. “Demand has been strong and remains strong. We’re very optimistic about next year.”

Sustained demand has finally translated into higher rates at area hotels, mimicking the upward spike in major markets throughout the nation.

The average hotel room in Orange County cost $84.80 a night in October, up 7.9% from October 1995. Airport hotels saw the biggest increases, as the average room rate climbed 8.8% in October to $80.62. In Anaheim, rates averaged $89.68 in October, up 8.4% from the same month a year ago.

Through the first 10 months of the year, the average Orange County hotel room was priced at $82.62 a night, up 4% over the same period a year ago.