Hotel Occupancy, Room Rates Fall in L.A.

Weaker convention business in September caused the occupancy rate and average price of hotel rooms in Los Angeles County to fall, local tourism officials said. The Los Angeles Convention Center in September drew only two sizable events, compared with four a year earlier, causing occupancy at premium downtown hotels to drop by about 20% and the average daily room rate to fall nearly 13% to $96.50. Michael Collins of the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau said the downtown figures dragged down the September statistics for the entire county, which posted an occupancy decline of close to 3% and a drop in room rates from $110.16 to $109.19. Collins called the September figures an aberration and said the region’s tourism trends are on track to surpass last year’s.

Meanwhile, strong convention bookings in September in Orange County touched off an 8% increase in occupancy and a roughly 4% increase in the average room rate from $101.47 to $105.19. Massive construction projects in and around Anaheim have hurt tourism to the area over the last several months, but the number of attendees to events at the Anaheim Convention Center jumped by nearly 36,000 in September, compared with a year ago.