South Florida Hotels Continue to Struggle

While tourism officials remain optimistic about the future, hotel performance has been down across South Florida over the past few months.

The Miami Herald reports that this past January marked the fourth consecutive month of decline in room nights sold and average daily rate (ADR) in Miami-Dade County and Broward County.

Citing data from STR, the Herald noted that 0.4 percent fewer room nights were sold in Miami-Dade County in January 2017 compared to the same month last year, while Broward County experienced a 2.5 percent drop.

What's more, Miami-Dade County hotels charged roughly 9.3 percent less for rooms this past January compared to January 2016, with ADR plummeting from $237 to $215. Broward County's dip in ADR was less drastic at 2.1 percent.

Miami-Dade County's hotels pulled in 10 percent less revenue compared to last year, while Broward County saw a 5 percent decline in revenue from its hotels.

Interestingly, one of the key contributors to the industry's decline has been an influx of new hotel rooms across the region, with Miami-Dade County boasting 4.6 percent more available hotel rooms in January 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

Experts also attribute the figures to a strong U.S. dollar that has been compounded by a weak Latin American economy. Last year's Zika virus concerns also impacted the industry, with group business travelers canceling 2017 trips.

However, Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau's chief marketing officer, Rolando Aedo told the Herald earlier this month that demand should be on the way up, partly sparked by an event-packed Presidents' Day Weekend.

"We’ve turned the corner in early 2017 is what I’m hearing," said Aedo. "We are going to start seeing momentum pick up in the latter part of 2017."

Source: Travel Pulse