March hotel occupancy dips in Broward, rises in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach

An increase in the number of available rooms appears to have contributed to Broward County's decline in hotel occupancy

Ritz-Carlton South Beach
Ritz-Carlton South Beach

Hotel occupancy in March increased in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and fell slightly in Broward County, according to hotel data specialist STR.

 

Hotel occupancy in Miami-Dade rose to 87.9 percent in March from 85.7 percent in the same month last year, and the average daily room rate in March was $268.22, up from $232.86 last year.

The average daily room rate also jumped in Broward County to $204.44 in March from $180.31 in the same month last year. But the county’s hotel occupancy rate dropped to 86.9 percent from 87.7 percent in March 2017.

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Stacy Ritter, president of thee Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said hotel occupancy in Broward dropped from the levels of last year because the number of available rooms in the county increased in the last 12 months by 795 to 31,044.

STR also reported that Palm Beach County’s hotel occupancy rate in March increased to 88.6 percent from 87.1 percent last year. [Sun-Sentinel] – Mike Seemuth