By the Caribbean Journal staff

Caribbean hotel occupancy declined in April, the region’s seventh-straight month of year-over-year decline.

Regional occupancy was 72.8 percent in April, however, a 1 percent reduction that was the lowest year over year decline since January, according to data from analytics specialist STR.

Average daily rates declined by 6.7 percent, while revenue per available room declined by 7.7 percent in the same period.

For the year, Caribbean hotel occupancy stands at 72.2 percent, down 1.7 percent from the same period in 2017, while average daily rates are at $234.61 and revenue per available room at $149.18.

STR data surveyed 1,956 hotels comprising 250,611 rooms in the wider region.

— CJ