Are Caribbean Hotels Set for a Turnaround?

It’s no secret that Caribbean hotels struggled last year, due to a number of factors from the growth of Cuba to the threat of Zika.

Indeed, hotel occupancy in the region fell by 2.2 percent last year, with negative growth in hotel occupancy in every month but September.

That trend has continued into 2017, with a 2.4 percent year-over-year decline in hotel occupancy last month and a 0.9 percent decline last month, according to data from STR, a data and analytics specialist.

But the latter number could herald improvement — that was actually the smallest monthly decline since last August.

And average daily rates and revenue per available rooms also saw their smallest declines since August, meaning either the decline is slowing or the trend is actually reversing.

Here’s hoping it’s the latter.

— Alexander Britell