Outlook for hotels still bright
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South Florida hotels, which include the Fontainbleau Miami Beach, can expect firmer room rates in the next four quarters.
South Florida's hotel industry will continue to be a bright spot in the region's economic recovery, but a new study expects the growth rate in revenue per room to slow down.
Occupancy is expected to rise in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale markets, while PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) expects a drop in the West Palm Beach market.
While the region had a spate of new hotel rooms during the pre-recession boom, supply is expected to increase a modest 2.1 percent in Miami and Fort Lauderdale during
the upcoming year and be unchanged in West Palm Beach. That should help hoteliers raise rates and increase profitability.
Statewide, the hospitality and leisure sector has added 39,400 jobs over the past year, which helped trim the unemployment rate to 10 percent in October.
Here's a snapshot of each of the South Florida markets over the next four quarters from PKF, which sells $495 reports for each market:
Miami
Occupancy will increase from 74.6 percent to 76.8 percent, above the 70 percent long-term average, while average daily rate growth will stay at 4.5 percent, compared with a 3.7 percent long-run average.
Revenue per available room (RevPar) is expected to grow 7.6 percent, which is above the long-run average of 4.1 percent growth, but below the 12.6 percent growth in the past four quarters.
Fort Lauderdale
Occupancy will increase to 71.8 percent, up from 70.5 percent in the last four quarters and above the long-run average of 67.2 percent. Avergae daily rates are expected to grow 4.5 percent, up from 0.9 percent and above the long-run average of 2.5 percent.
RevPar growth will taper off to 6.4 percent from 7.3 percent, but still be above the long-term growth rate of 3.2 percent.