Delano doesn’t budge on price

Despite the recession, the Delano hotel hasn’t raced its competition to the bottom on prices. Even with a 10 percent discount from last year’s prices, rooms there currently average $538 per night. Fred Kleisner, chief executive of Morgans Hotel Group, which owns the Delano, argued that the hotel shouldn’t give up its position as a market leader. Although the group reported that occupancy has dropped to 62 percent from 83 percent in 2008, Kleisner said he’s seeing a rebound from wealthy travelers in his New York, London and Los Angeles locations. South Beach is not yet showing signs of recovery, however, and the branch there also faces a wave of new luxury properties coming on line. Overall occupancy in South Beach hotels is down 10 percent from a year ago and room rates are down 12 percent. [Miami Herald]