Summer looks hot for hotels
| Tuesday, Jun 30 2009 08:26 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Jun 30 2009 08:26 PM
Others’ misfortune may benefit Bakersfield’s hotel market this summer. Trends across the broader industry suggest vacationers are looking to spend less and stay closer to home.
Both predictions could favor the local hotel market, which is priced lower than its tourism competition in the state. Also, Kern is considered a reasonable driving distance from much of Southern California.
Recent results among Bakersfield hotels may not be stellar, but they beat the state as a whole. Between April 2008 and April 2009, occupancy rates of hotels in the city dropped by 4.8 percentage points to 57.5 percent, according to Smith Travel Research. Statewide, the drop was much larger — 7.4 points, settling at 60.7 percent total occupancy.
Average daily hotel room rates followed a similar pattern. Over the same 12-month period, Bakersfield rates declined by about 3 percent, to $66.73. Across the state, the rate fell by almost 12 percent, to $109.35, Smith Travel Research reported.
The more conservative vacation plans appear to stem from the economic slowdown. Results of a Harris Interactive poll from mid-April show that 35 percent of those polled indicated they will reduce the length of their vacations, and 46 percent plan to spend less money on their trips.
The California Travel & Tourism Commission’s outlook for this summer suggests that the state overall should do well because people — state residents as well as those from nearby states — are preparing to travel short distances to vacation.
California should also do well, the commission said, because the state’s geography is varied and tourists can pack various activities into a single trip. It added that the relatively weak dollar is discouraging overseas travel.
