The Costa Mesa-based hotel brokerage and consulting firm's analysis of year-to-year trends in the California hotel industry shows that the number of sales declined by 25%, from 12 at this time last year to nine this year; the dollar volume of transactions declined by 4.8% to $30.7 million, compared with $32.3 million at this time last year; and median price per room increased by 15% to $56,000, compared with $48,700 for this time last year. The largest sale in the county thus far has been the 111-room Best Western Marty's Valley Inn, which sold for $5.8 million, or $52,523 per room.

The San Diego County statistics were part of a statewide Atlas Hospitality report that showed the number of sales in the state edging upward by 6% for the first six months of 2003, with Southern California accounting for the increase. The total number of sales increased by 12% in the Southland (to 84 from 75) while declining by 12% in Northern California (to 22 from 25). Overall, the dollar volume of transactions climbed 33% in the state to a total of $571 million, but the activity represented a tendency toward smaller sales this year, with the number of larger transactions (those of more than $5 million) falling by 22%. In Southern California, the total dollar volume of transactions climbed by nearly 56% to $421 million, up from $270 million in the first six months of 2002.