Oklahoma City, OK - August 06, 2012  - Oklahoma City’s hotel industry is outpacing the nation in occupancy and revenue, with increases that are double and triple the national average in most categories. The U.S. hotel industry reports on three key performance metrics – occupancy rate, revenue per available room and average daily rate – and year-to-date, Oklahoma City has grown in double digits in two of the three categories as compared to last year.

“There are a lot of things that contribute to such a vast increase in numbers, but what it comes down to is that people have figured out that Oklahoma City is a great place to be,” said Mike Carrier, president of the Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “People are coming here for everything from a couples weekend to sporting events, and hosting major international happenings like the NBA Playoffs and the Olympic Trials just further boost our positive image.”

Oklahoma City’s hotel occupancy rate year-to-date is at 65.3 percent, compared to 58.6 percent at this time last year – an 11.4 percent increase. Nationally, the industry’s occupancy rate increased only 3.1 percent within that time frame. This increase is larger than every single one of the Top 25 Markets - the biggest increase in the Top 25 Markets was Houston at just 9.3 percent.

“What is amazing is that there isn’t one area that is skewing the numbers,” said Carrier. “The Plaza District, Stockyards City, The Paseo – all the districts are busy. The entire city can take credit for this.”

When looking at revenue available per room, Oklahoma City increased 17.1 percent – from $42.25 to $49.47 – more than double the national increase of 7.9 percent. This means Oklahoma City’s revenue per room increase is also higher than all the Top 25 markets, with the exception of Oahu Island, which Oklahoma City trailed by only 1.3 percent. Oklahoma City also beat the national increase in average daily rate. Oklahoma City increased 5.1 percent (from $72.05 to $75.73), while the national increase was 4.7 percent.

“When you look at these numbers and realize we are growing faster than San Francisco and Houston, and we are trailing places like Oahu by just a little more than one percent, that really puts things into perspective,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “We have always said that the recession never stopped Oklahoma City’s momentum, but these numbers clearly show that we never even really slowed down.”

Results were reported by Smith Travel Research, an international benchmarking data company, and the world’s foremost source in historical hotel performance trends. For more information, please contact Jill Harrison at 405-297-8990 or [email protected].