FL hotel room rates drop

from yesterday's Orlando Sentinel (8/26):

Hotel room rates dip -- 1st time since 2003
Sara K. Clarke
Sentinel Staff Writer
August 26, 2008

"Hotels of all kinds trimmed their room rates in Metro Orlando last month, something that hasn't happened in the local market in almost five years.

Concerned about a soft U.S. economy and its effect on travelers, hoteliers reduced their average room rate 1.3 percent in July, according to the latest survey by Smith Travel Research, which doesn't include Walt Disney World hotels.

All sectors of the lodging business, from budget motels to luxury resorts, reported lower prices compared with the same month last year. Economy hotels discounted the most, slicing 7 percent from their average daily rate. Luxury hotels shaved the least, with a 1.1 percent average decline.

The last time Orlando-area hotels in all price ranges reduced their average room rate in the same month: October 2003.

Hotel occupancy was also down in July, by 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Combining that with the lower average room rate generated a 3.4 percent decline in revenue per available room, a key industry measure." ...

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