Metro Atlanta hotel growth outpacing competitors

Hotel business in metro Atlanta is picking up as the economy improves and visitation to the area increases.

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau said Wednesday that occupancy growth at metro Atlanta hotels outpaced all competitors in the nation’s Top 25 markets, which includes destinations such as Orlando, Las Vegas and Chicago, according to Smith Travel Research.

Metro hotel occupancy was 70.1 percent this past August, up 8.6 percent compared to August 2013, according to Smith Travel. The average growth rate for hotels in the Top 25 was about 3.6 percent.

That’s good news for the metro area, which has more than 93,000 hotel rooms to fill. During the recession, hotel growth in metro Atlanta slowed significantly as there was more supply than demand.