Wednesday, April 7, 2010

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<b>Lodging</b> taxes surge as <b>hotels</b> come back to life

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 08:22 PM PDT

It might be time for hotels to put hurricanes back atop their worry list.

The economy's pounding of South Florida's tourism industry seems to have eased considerably, with new numbers suggesting a healthy rebound under way at hotels. With the peak of the winter tourism season finishing strong, that would leave the summer -- and the storms it often brings -- as the big hurdle to a lasting recovery.

``We're not prepared to call it a trend, but we're very grateful for it,'' said Nicki Grossman, Broward's tourism director. ``We feel like we're seeing recovery. We've stopped hemorrhaging.''

Miami-Dade's hotel market roared back to life in February, with the Super Bowl helping boost lodging taxes a stunning 33 percent over the prior year.

That's the biggest one-month increase since collections began in the early 1990s, according to county figures.

That's also far better than Miami-Dade's last Super Bowl month three years ago, when the hotel market was booming. In February 2007, hotel taxes increased 17 percent countywide.

The new numbers partly reflect a favorable comparison to last year's dismal February, when hotel taxes plunged 24 percent.

And the surge shows just how much ground hotels have lost in the recession. The February 2010 collection of $8.7 million is only slightly higher than February 2008's $8.6 million total -- despite the huge boost a Super Bowl brought hotel rates. Room rates have been rolled back to about where they were in 2006, according to Smith Travel Research data.

BEYOND EXPECTATION

Still, the surge captures a rebound under way in the tourism industry, with local airports seeing traffic up 2 to 4 percent.

``You're coming off a challenging year, so you'd expect an increase. But I think a 34 percent gain is beyond what even the optimists were predicting,'' said Rolando Aedo, vice president of tourism for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. ``We should be doing well. But the fact we're seeing this tremendous growth speaks to the strength of the brand.''

At South Beach's Clevelander Hotel, a popular spring break stop, room rates are moving higher for the summer.

``We're feeling strong,'' General Manager Mike Palma said.

If the recovery trend continues, it would put Miami-Dade on track to meet projections for 2010 debt payments on the Florida Marlins ballpark under construction in Little Havana.

Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess said hotel taxes, which fund the debt, are pacing ahead of projections for 2010. His plan calls for a 10 percent increase next year after a flat 2010, which so far has shown a 4.6 percent gain over 2009.

``We're seeing better performance than we expected,'' Burgess said in an interview last week.

IN BROWARD

Broward, which lured a large share of the official Super Bowl events away from Miami-Dade this year, saw a more modest increase in February hotel taxes.

Collection figures show a 15 percent increase to $5 million. It's the first month in roughly two years that all hotel indicators showed gains, Grossman said.

The boost came as Broward hotels kept room rates flat at $131 a night but were able to sell more beds. Occupancy in Broward grew from 72 percent a year ago to 78 percent, according to Smith numbers, which cover the first three weeks of March.

Miami-Dade is enjoying a stronger rebound, though it also suffered a steeper fall in 2009. Revenue from the average room in Miami-Dade jumped 15 percent in March, according to the early Smith figures, as both room rates and occupancy levels grew. The average rate was about $185 per night.IN PORT

Cruise ships helped fill hotel rooms in both counties, with the Port of Miami reporting a 20 percent increase in passenger in January and Port Everglades inching up 3 percent. February showed some weakness but tourism officials expect the cruise industry -- which grew during the recession thanks to aggressive discounting -- to continue bolstering the hotel market.

``The cruise ships are doing very well. That's provided a lot of business to my hotel,'' said James Angel, sales director for the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Miami International Airport.

Still, Angel hasn't seen a rebound in corporate travel as businesses continue to watch meeting expenses.

The loss of corporate meetings from the backlash over Wall Street bailouts helped contribute to last year's rough year for hotels, when room revenues fell nearly 30 percent at the height of the winter tourism season.

Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale tourism bureau, said the downturn shook her outlook on South Florida's appeal to vacationers.

``It was devastating, not only financially. But you start to lose your confidence that you've got what people are looking for,'' she said. ``And that confidence is back.''

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

<b>Lodging</b> taxes surge as <b>hotels</b> come back to life

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 03:32 PM PDT

It might be time for South Florida hotels to put hurricanes back atop their worry list.

The economy's pounding of the tourism industry seems to have eased considerably, with new numbers suggesting a healthy rebound under way at hotels. With the peak of the winter tourism season finishing strong, that would leave the summer (and the storms it often brings) as the big hurdle to a lasting recovery.

``We're not prepared to call it a trend, but we're very grateful for it,'' said Nicki Grossman, Broward's tourism director. ``We feel like we're seeing recovery. We've stopped hemorrhaging.''

Miami-Dade's hotel market roared back to life in February, with Super Bowl helping boost lodging taxes a stunning 33 percent over the prior year.

That's the biggest one-month increase since the collections began in the early 1990s, according to county figures.

That's also far better than Miami-Dade's last Super Bowl month three years ago, when the hotel market was otherwise booming. In February 2007, hotel taxes increased 17 percent countywide.

The new numbers partly reflect a favorable comparison to last year's dismal February, when hotel taxes plunged 24 percent.

And the surge shows just how much ground hotels have lost in the recession. The February 2010 collection of $8.7 million is only slightly higher than February 2008's $8.6 million total -- despite the huge boost a Super Bowl brought hotel rates. Room rates have been rolled back to about where they were in 2006, according to Smith Travel Research data..

Still, the surge captures a rebound under way in the tourism industry, with local airports seeing traffic up between 2 and 4 percent.

``You're coming off a challenging year, so you'd expect an increase. But I think a 34 percent gain is beyond what even the optimists were predicting,'' said Rolando Aedo, vice president of tourism for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. ``We should be doing well. But the fact we're seeing this tremendous growth speaks to the strength of the brand.''

At South Beach's Clevelander Hotel, a popular Spring Break stop, room rates are moving higher for the summer.

``The bar business kicked'' into gear, General Manager Mike Palma said of 2010. ``We're feeling strong.''

If the recovery trend continues, it would put Miami-Dade on track to meet projections for 2010 debt payments on the Florida Marlins ballpark under construction in Little Havana.

County Manager George Burgess said hotel taxes, which fund the debt, are pacing ahead of projections for 2010. His plan calls for a 10 percent increase next year after a flat 2010, which so far has shown a 4.6 percent gain over 2009.

``We're seeing better performance than we expected,'' Burgess said in an interview last week.

Broward, which lured a large share of the official Super Bowl events away from Miami-Dade this year, saw a more modest increase in February hotel taxes. Collection figures show a 15 percent increase to $5 million. It's the first month in roughly two years that all hotel indicators showed gains, Grossman said.

The boost came as Broward hotels kept room rates flat at $131 a night but were able to sell more beds. Occupancy in Broward grew from 72 percent a year ago to 78 percent, according to Smith numbers, which cover the first three weeks of March.

Miami-Dade is enjoying a stronger rebound, though it also suffered a steeper fall in 2009. Revenue from the average room in Miami-Dade jumped 15 percent in March, according to the early Smith figures, as both room rates and occupancy levels grew. The average rate was about $185 per night.

Cruise ships helped fill hotel rooms in both counties, with the Port of Miami reporting a 20 percent increase in passenger in January and Port Everglades inching up 3 percent. February showed some weakness but tourism officials expect the cruise industry -- which grew during the recession thanks to aggressive discounting -- to continue bolstering the hotel market.

``The cruise ships are doing very well. That's provided a lot of business to my hotel,'' said James Angel, sales director for the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Miami International Airport.

Still, Angel hasn't seen a rebound in corporate travel as businesses continue to watch meeting expenses.

The loss of corporate meetings from the backlash over Wall Street bailouts helped contribute to last year's rough year for hotels, when room revenues fell nearly 30 percent at the height of the winter tourism season.

Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale tourism bureau, said the downturn shook her outlook on South Florida's appeal to vacationers.

``It was devastating, not only financially. But you start to lose your confidence that you've got what people are looking for,'' she said. ``And that confidence is back.''

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

O.C. <b>hotels</b> cut room rates 10%

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 09:46 AM PDT

The local hotel business did not start the year off on the right foot. The lodging experts at PKF report that Orange County hotels in January saw room rates down 10% in a year (that's $14.74 a night!). Meanwhile, those rate cuts kept 43% of the Orange County rooms empty — same as a the year earlier.

Also …

  • All told, countywide "Revpar" — a key hotel cash-flow measure tracking rates and occupancy — was -11% for the month vs. a year ago.
  • By region, 0 of the 7 slices of the county PKF tracks had year-over-year room rate gains; 5 of the 7 slices had occupancy gains; and 3 of the 7 has "RevPar" increases.

    • Note: Chart at right shows the month's average room rate; year's change in rates; occupancy (occ.) and year's change; plus the year's change in "revpar" (Rev. ch.)

    Big real estate woes:

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    Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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