Los Angeles County mirrored a statewide trend in which more hotel rooms were built in 2002 than in 2001 despite the widely reported downturn in the hospitality industry following September 2001. Statewide, according to the Atlas report, 74 hotels comprising 9,954 rooms were opened in 2002, compared with 62 hotels totaling 8,788 rooms in 2001.
Alan Reay, president of Atlas, tells GlobeSt.com that the trend is not entirely surprising because of the long time required to plan and obtain entitlements for hotels, many of which were in the works before the industry slowdown. The downturn is reflected in the decline in the planning of new hotel rooms, however. The number of new rooms planned in Los Angeles County at the year's end was 11,623, a 2% decline compared with the number on the drawing boards at the end of 2001.
Los Angeles County continues to lead the state, however, with more rooms planned than any other county. Overall in California, the number of new rooms planned at year-end 2002 was down 14% from 2001 and down over 31% from 2000. The most dramatic drop in planned rooms was in Northern California, where the planned new supply plunged by almost 50%, according to the Atlas survey. The largest percentage increase in planned new rooms was in Ventura County, up 233%.
Atlas says Hilton brand hotels continue to lead the state in terms of new hotels in the planning stage with a total of 54, followed by Marriott with 46.
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