Sept. 20–South Florida's hotel industry gains in occupancy and room rates this summer, which continued into August, will likely be eroded this month as many beachfront hotels had to evacuate guests to prepare for Hurricane Irma.
That meant lost room, food and beverage revenues from shortened or canceled stays due to the hurricane. And while the final bill for Irma's unwelcome visit is still to be tallied, ripple effects are expected for the lodging industry.
On the bright side, South Florida hotels were fuller in August and charged higher room rates than a year ago, fueled in part by business from sports and corporate groups, conventions and family reunions.
The local hotel industry also benefited in part from the absence of any reoccurring outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which was a major concern for tourism last summer.
In Broward County, hotel occupancy climbed to 74.9 percent from 72.9 percent in August 2016, while average daily rate rose to $108.59 from $106.17, new data released Wednesday by the industry analytics firm STR showed.
Meanwhile, Broward's revenue per available room ticked up to $81.31 from $77.45 a year ago.
Palm Beach County enjoyed slightly higher occupancy of 63.4 percent versus 62.9 percent in August 2016, while its average daily room rate inched up to $115.80 from $115.71. However, revenue per available room grew to $73.45 from $72.76 last year, STR data showed.
In Miami-Dade County, hotels were 75.4 percent occupied compared with 73.7 percent in the same 2016 month. And average daily rates rose to $145.01 from $143.64 last year.
Hotels in the Greater Miami area saw revenue per room of $109.32 versus $105.80 in the prior year.
Although many of Florida's key tourist destinations along its coastal and central areas were impacted to some degree by Hurricane Irma, tourism officials have since been hanging out the "We're Open" for business sign for travelers.
On Monday, Broward hosted its first group following Irma — the 2017 ICES Science Conference — which runs through Thursday at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center.
"No disruptions are expected to several major pieces of convention center business which will use the facility in the near future," said the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau in a post-storm update.
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2017, the tourism bureau said it plans to accelerate marketing efforts in key domestic and international markets to promote the peak winter travel season, attract meetings and convention business and spread the word that the area is ready to welcome visitors back.
Similarly, Palm Beach County tourism officials are eager to let meeting planners know the area is open to their groups and conventions.
"We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of groups and meetings booked for this destination in the past year, particularly after the opening of the 400-room Hilton West Palm Beach, connected to the convention center," said Jorge Pesquera, president of Discover The Palm Beaches, the county's tourism marketer.
"We remained open before, during and after the storm made landfall," said John Parkinson, the Hilton's general manager. "We are incredibly fortunate to not have been impacted, and grateful to have been able to provide shelter to our guests, team members and first responders."
In Miami-Dade, tourism officials have also announced that the area is open for business and other visitors to return, noting that most hotels reported little or no damage from Irma and its convention center suffered no exterior storm impact.
[email protected], 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport
