The report shows occupancy at county hotels climbed nearly two percentage points to 69.06% from January through August, compared with 67.28% at the end of 2001 and 72.77% in 2000, the peak year for occupancy.

The figures for Orange County and other Southern California hotel markets are promising "in spite of the doom and gloom that has regularly been reported" about the industry, says the report by Jordan Richman, a Grubb & Ellis senior vice president.

Orange County has benefited from the presence of resort hotels that draw visitors who drive in for a getaway or a vacation, including a number of new properties, Richman tells GlobeSt.com."People are driving in for getaways rather than flying to other places either in the United States or other countries," Richman says.