From the May issue: New York hoteliers are used to collecting accolades for their luxurious rooms and top-chef cuisine, but the economic meltdown is bestowing an unwelcome new distinction on the city: worst-performing hotel market in the United States. The city earned the title by leading the nation last month in a decline in revenue per available room, or revpar. In the trailing month through April 11, the most recent data available at press time, New York logged a stunning 34.5 percent fall, according to Smith Travel Research. That’s even worse than the nationwide revpar drop of nearly 20 percent in the most recent trailing month. (Other cities, including Chicago, are taking it on the chin, as well, with declines worse than the national average.) For all of 2009, this crucial benchmark of hotel health is expected to drop 26.1 percent in New York City, the worst revpar performance among U.S. cities, according to hotel industry research firm PKF Hospitality Consulting.
