Atlanta hotel occupancy slides

By Leon Stafford

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Metro Atlanta’s hotel occupancy slide, which has left whole floors of rooms empty for much of the year, persisted in August.

But one lodging expert says the hard times could soon be coming to an end.

For the first eight months of 2009, metro Atlanta hotel occupancy was about 54.1 percent, says Mark Vaughan, executive vice president, chief sales and marketing officer for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. That’s down from 62.2 percent during the same time a year earlier.

“We continue to struggle,” Vaughan told members of the ACVB board during its monthly meeting on Tuesday.

Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, said he expects metro Atlanta’s 93,000 plus rooms to enjoy a slight increase next year.

“The low point is going to be reached this year,” Woodworth said of the Atlanta occupancy. “The numbers are going to start getting better next year.”

Why? Because Atlanta hotels, which depend heavily on business and convention travel, started feeling the effects of the recession earlier than other cities so the fall was deeper than in other areas, he said. As the economy recovers, occupancy numbers will look stronger compared to their lows.

In addition, he said the number of conventions on the books for 2010 is stronger than it has been over the past few years, giving the area’s hotels a boost. However, attendance will determine if how strong the boost will be, he said.

In the meantime, hoteliers will tighten budgets to stay afloat.

“There is no question that the average hotel owner this year is going to make 40 percent less than they did last year,” he said.