Aug. 29--The Florida Keys led the state in hotel occupancy and average daily rates for June and July, according to data released Monday by Smith Travel Research.

Hotel occupancy in the Keys was 73.7 percent in June and 79.4 percent in July, according to Smith Travel, while the average daily rate for a hotel room in the Keys was $149.53 for June and $153.01 for July. Orlando and the Florida panhandle were second and third in occupancy in June, respectively, with Orlando hotels at 64.7 percent occupancy and hotels in the Florida panhandle at 62.9 percent occupancy. In July, Orlando and the panhandle were also second and third, with Orlando at 68.2 percent occupancy and the Florida panhandle at 66.4 percent occupancy.

Miami was second in average daily rate for June and July at $113.96 and $116.80. Fort Myers was third in rate for June at $112.12. The Florida panhandle was third in rate for July at $115.30.

For the Keys, July was the third consecutive month leading the state in both tourism performance indicators. In June, hotel occupancy in the Keys was up 3.4 percent, and in July it grew 5.1 percent compared to a year ago. But the rate that visitors paid for a night's stay in a hotel room here had dropped.

The average daily rate for lodging in the Keys was down 11 percent in June and down 10.4 percent in July, compared with June and July of 2008.

Looking at the different regions of the Keys, Marathon hotels were way up in occupancy rates for the months of June and July, but people were paying less for rooms, while in Key Largo, occupancy and average daily rate were both down for both June and July.

In Key Largo, 67.3 percent of hotel rooms were occupied in June, down 7.5 percent from June of 2008. In July, things were a little improved, with 73.3 percent of rooms occupied, just 3.3 percent down from a year ago. The average daily rate at Key Largo hotels and motels in June was $127.49, down 8.3 percent from last year, while in July the average rate was $132.23, down 6.4 percent from last year.

In Marathon, hotel occupancy in June of this year was 67.8 percent, up 21.4 percent from June of 2008. In July, occupancy was 73.3 percent, up 18.5 percent from a year ago. The average daily rate was down 5.5 percent in June and 5.8 percent in July.

In Key West, occupancy in June was at 78.6 percent, up 3.9 percent from last year. In July, occupancy was at 84.4 percent, up 4.7 percent from July of 2008. The average daily rate for hotels in Key West was $154 in June, down 11.2 percent from last year. In July, the average daily rate was $156.54, down 10.8 percent from last year.

Smith Travel Research has an annual contract with the Monroe County Tourist Development Council to gather data related to tourism in the Keys. Hotels, motels and inns in the Keys voluntarily report occupancy rates and average daily rates to Smith Travel. Any property not currently participating in the Smith Travel program can contact Jessica Bennett of the Tourist Development Council at research@fla-keys.com for more information on how to sign up. A sign-up package can also be downloaded from the TDC page of the county web site at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/pages/MonroeCoFL_TDC/index.

-----

To see more of the Keynoter, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.keysnet.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.