It’s a small sample, but the Caribbean hotel sector is starting to show signs of a rebound, according to new data from hotel analytics firm STR.

After a down year in 2016 and a slow start to 2017, Caribbean hotel occupancy has increased in each of the last three months, with 1.5 percent year-over-year growth in May, with 65.1 percent overall occupancy.

Average daily rates also increased by 1.5 percent last month to $178.15, while revenue per available room increased by 3.1 percent to $115.89.

For the year, occupancy is still down by 0.1 percent at 71.6 percent, while average daily rates are down by 0.2 percent to $227.63 and RevPar is down 0.3 percent at $163.05.

STR’s data surveyed 1,936 hotels comprising 244,614 rooms in the Caribbean region.

– Caribbean Journal staff