LAYTON -- Hotel occupancy in Ogden and Davis County crept up in March, leaving hoteliers here excited for the future.
The hotel occupancy rate in Ogden increased from 59.3 percent last March to 60.3 percent this March, while in Davis County hotel occupancy for the same month went from 52.8 percent to 55.7 percent, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging report released Wednesday.
Other than Salt Lake County, no area of the state had as high an occupancy rate as Ogden and Davis County, said Michael Johnson, executive director of the Utah Hotel and Lodging Association, based in Kaysville.
Johnson said the recent report is an indication things are headed the right direction.
"Occupancy leads rates. We have to get occupancy up before we can ever see an increase in rates," Johnson said.
Low rates are fantastic for travelers, Johnson said, but from a business standpoint the property owner has a business to run and is hoping to make money.
Other than the mountain resorts, like those in Park City, and the downtown Salt Lake City corridor, nearly every other segment of the state was up when comparing the March 2010 hotel occupancy rates with the March 2009 figures, Johnson said. In the mountain resorts room rates were down about $20 per night, while the downtown Salt Lake City corridor experienced a $10 dip in rates, Johnson said.
Some hotels had to sell rooms cheaper to get the occupancy rate they did, he said.
"Occupancy is up. (But) the rate is down," said Johnson, who anticipates occupancy will have to reach about 65 percent before room rates increase.
The March report is particularly promising, considering hotels' experience in 2009 and the last quarter of 2008.
Last year was a rough period on hotels across the state and nation, as well as internationally, Johnson said. But because of military visits to Hill Air Force Base, summer and business travel to the Wasatch Front, area ski resorts and Antelope Island, Davis County and Ogden were able to stave off some of last year's decline, Johnson said.
There is also news about more hotels to come.
Construction bids for the new Hilton Home 2 Suites to be built in Layton near the Hilton Garden Inn have been received, said Andy Pettingill, director of hotel operations for Western States Lodging, serving as the management team for the project.
Bids are promising, Pettingill said, but no contracts have been signed as they continue to negotiate.
Updated 7:16 p.m.
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Hotel stays up in Ogden, Davis County
LAYTON -- Hotel occupancy in Ogden and Davis County crept up in March, leaving hoteliers here excited for the future.
The hotel occupancy rate in Ogden increased from 59.3 percent last March to 60.3 percent this March, while in Davis County hotel occupancy for the same month went from 52.8 percent to 55.7 percent, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging report released Wednesday.
Other than Salt Lake County, no area of the state had as high an occupancy rate as Ogden and Davis County, said Michael Johnson, executive director of the Utah Hotel and Lodging Association based in Kaysville.
Johnson said the recent report is an indication things are headed the right direction.
"Occupancy leads rates. We have to get occupancy up before we can ever see an increase in rates," Johnson said.
"Low rates are fantastic for travelers," Johnson said.
But from a business standpoint, he said, the property owner has a business to run and they are hoping to make money off it.
Hoteliers are not wanting to ratchet-up the rates on consumers, but as demands fill, it is difficult for hoteliers to quickly change supply, Johnson said.
"We are a supply and demand model like any other. We just can't up and change our supply as we want," he said of their lack of immediate flexibility to add rooms.
Other than the mountain resorts, like those in Park City, and the downtown Salt Lake City corridor, nearly every other segment of the state was up in comparing the March 2010 hotel occupancy rates with the March 2009 figures, Johnson said.
In the mountain resorts room rates were down about $20 per night, while the downtown Salt Lake City corridor experienced a $10 dip in rates, Johnson said.
Some hotels had to sell rooms cheaper to get the occupancy rate they did, he said.
"Occupancy is up. (But) the rate is down," said Johnson, who anticipates occupancy will have to reach about 65 percent before room rates increase.
The March report is particularly promising, considering the year hotels experienced in 2009 and the last quarter of 2008.
The year 2009 was a rough period on hotels across the state and nation, as well as internationally, Johnson said.
But due to military visits to Hill Air Force Base, summer and business travel to the Wasatch Front, area ski resorts and Antelope Island, Davis County and Ogden were able to stave off some of last year's decline, Johnson said.
There is also news on the horizon of more hotels to come.
Construction bids for the new Hilton Home 2 Suites to be built in Layton near the Hilton Garden Inn have been received, said Andy Pettingill, director of hotel operations for Western States Lodging, serving as the management team for the project.
Bids for the project are promising, Pettingill said, but no contracts have been signed as they continue to negotiate.
Once the project is complete, Pettingill said, he expects it will take a few years for the area's occupancy rate to stabilize with the added rooms. The hope is the extended-stay suites will serve as another Davis Conference Center hotel in giving convention attendees another option.
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