Caribbean Hotel Report: Occupancy Numbers Continue to Decline

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Caribbean hotel occupancy continued its slow start to 2014 with another decline, according to STR.

The region’s hotel occupancy fell by 0.4 percent in March compared to the same month in 2013, following a similar year-over-year decline in February.

Hotel occupancy in the region in March stood at 78.6 percent, down from 79 percent in March 2013. By comparison, hotel occupancy rose by 3.5 percent in March 2013 compared to the previous year.

Average daily rates improved, however, rising 7.4 percent to $253.33, while RevPar, or revenue per available room, rose by 6.9 percent to $199.14.

Those increases were slower than during the same period in 2013, however.

STR’s latest monthly hotel report surveyed 1,887 properties comprising 225,493 rooms in the Caribbean region.