"It was just awful," Benton tells GlobeSt.com. "I noticed nationally, during the month of April, preliminary numbers show hotels were down 7% to 9%. Denver was down more than the average."
It was far more than the average, in fact. Occupancy rates fell by 16.3% in the Denver area in April from April 2002. "It seems like in April there were a lot of concerns about the war," Benton tells GlobeSt.com. "People were a little bit anxious. It was like the economy was just coming to a halt."
Room rates also were down. The average room rate in April was $82.99, compared with $88.83 a year earlier. Year-to-date, the average occupancy rate is 53.6%, compared with 56.4% in the first four months of 2002. The average room rate in the first four months was $82.66, compared with $83.31 in 2002. However, Benton expects summer travel to be much stronger and the worst may be over.
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