Report: Area hotels’ occupancy rate in March was 89.2 percent

The occupancy rate for Orlando hotels was 89.2 percent in March, the highest level in at least six years, according to data from STR, which tracks the hospitality industry.

That represents a 2 percent growth since March 2017. That surge comes even though the market — defined as hotels in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties — has 1.8 percent more rooms than it did a year ago. The region had more hotels rooms, and they were fuller than this time last year.

Central Florida’s hotels recorded a double-digit gain in revenue per available room: The rate rose 11.5 percent to $135.59 in the month. Orlando’s increase was the third-largest in the country. The top gainer was the Miami/ Hialeah market, which had a year-to-year increase of 18.2 percent to $235.70.

“Markets like Miami, Orlando and Norfolk/Virginia Beach benefited from school-break and family-vacation business,” said Jan Freitag, senior vice president of lodging insights for STR, which is based in Hendersonville, Tenn.

There were multiple factors working in Orlando’s favor in March, said Richard Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association. Among those are the region’s strong reputation as a destination, the arrival of spring break and Easter, and “an ongoing wintrytype season in the Midwest and northeast corridors.”

The recurring cold snaps and snowy weather up north “only drives our occupancy and our visitation,” Maladecki said.

He also credited the marketing teams from tourism organizations, hotels and theme parks for the upward trend.

“We continue to reinvent this destination,” he said.

The lead-up weeks to Easter this year on April 1 were in March, which can be a negative for event planners who avoid the time around holidays, Freitag said. Group occupancy was down 4.8 percent for the month, he said. In 2017, Easter was observed in midApril.

Nationally, occupancy was up 0.9 percent to 68.5 percent, according to STR. Revenue per available room went up 3.9 percent nationally, to hit a mark of $90.17.

Among the major markets in March, Philadelphia had the highest rise in occupancy (9.7 percent to 73.5 percent) and the second-biggest increase in revenue per available room (up 14.3 percent to 94.37). Detroit recorded the biggest drops in both occupancy (down 8.3 percent to 64.1 percent) and revenue per available room (down 8.4 percent to $63.78).