Orange County hotel rates averaged $153.90 last year, an 8.4 percent increase over 2006, reports PKF Consulting, a hospitality industry research firm.
Hotel occupancy for the year, however, edged up up only 0.2 percent to 75 percent, mostly because of the strong draw in 2006 during Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The numbers confirm a preliminary report last month from the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau saying visitors spent a record $8.3 billion in 2007, up 4 percent from the year before.
Monthly numbers for December showed a softening in the market. Average room rates countywide were $141.78, a 5.3 percent increase over December 2006. Newport Beach charged the highest average rates a $197.52. North Orange County was lowest at $96.68.
Fewer room, however, were filled in December with only one area — Huntington Beach — showing an increase in occupancy over December 2006. Huntington Beach occupancy increased 1.3 percent for the month.
Countywide December occupancy dropped 7.8 percent from the the previous year to 63 percent. The end of the Disney celebration showed up in Anaheim’s December occupancy numbers, which dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 68.1 percent. That was the biggest monthly percentage drop of any Orange County area, but it was still the highest percentage of rooms filled in the county.
