by Calculated Risk on 1/07/2010 12:17:00 PM

A little year end good news for the hotel industry ...

From HotelNewsNow.com: STR: US hotel weekly results end year on positive note

The industry’s occupancy increased 5.9 percent to end the week at 45.5 percent. Average daily rate dropped 4.0 percent to finish the week at US$99.79. RevPAR for the week rose 1.6 percent to finish at US$45.37.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the weekly occupancy rate starting in 2000 and the 52 week moving average (at a record low since the Great Depression).

This graph shows the clear seasonal pattern for hotel occupancy with a peak in the Summer months due to leisure travel, and a trough at the end of the year.

Next week I'll post the usual graph comparing the current year to each of the previous three years.

Data Source: Smith Travel Research, Courtesy of HotelNewsNow.com (Note: They have a free daily email too for hotel news)

The end of the year can be a little confusing because of the holidays, and mid-to-late January will be the next key weeks to see if business travel is picking up in 2010.

There is also bad news: HotelNewsNow provides the latest Atlas California Distressed Hotels Survey. Excerpt:

Since the beginning of 2009:
• The number of hotels that were foreclosed on rose 313%, from 15 to 62.
• The number of hotels in default increased 479%, from 53 to 307.
• California has 4,468 rooms that have been foreclosed on, up 792%