After months of hotel occupancy decline in the Caribbean, there are signs of life, according to the latest data from hotel analytics firm STR.

The Caribbean showed a 1.6 percent year-over-year increase in hotel occupancy in March, the first month of positive growth since September of last year and just the second positive month since September 2015.

But that came with a 4.7 percent decline in average daily rate to $250.29, and a 3.2 percent year-over-year decline in revenue per available room, suggesting the gains may have come through discounting.

For the year, hotel occupancy in the Caribbean is down 0.7 percent to 73.8 percent, while average daily rates are down 2.7 percent to $244.88 and RevPar is down 3.4 percent to $180.65.

STR’s data surveyed 1,935 hotels comprising 242,351 rooms in the Caribbean.

— Caribbean Journal Staff