One might expect that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would be severely hampering business for beach hotels along the gulf coast. But according to recent reports business is doing pretty well:
While I’ve not visited the region yet, from what I’m hearing and reading recently it seems that relatively few of the thousands of miles of beach along the Gulf Coast have been heavily affected and life continues on as usual for most residents and visitors. The Louisiana coast has been hit hardest with multiple beach closures, but as you travel east along Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the impact is minimal, beaches are open and the hotel business is, well booming.
Booming? Yep, at least in terms of occupancy. According the Smith Travel Research (the go-to guys for hotel industry stats) occupancy rates along the coast Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida were up 7 percent in June year-over-year. In coastal Alabama alone, occupancy was up a whopping 41 percent; in Louisiana and Mississippi it was up 10 percent and 11 percent respectively. Florida and Texas experienced smaller increases, but all were up over last June.
Where is this silver lining coming from? To answer that, I called in some experts.
>Troy Rutman, spokesperson for Best Western*, which has hundreds of hotels in the region, said, “While some beach properties have seen declines, the overall short term outlook has been buoyed by corporate business from clean-up crews and news media. We’ve got our eye on the mid- and long-term economic impact of the spill, and we have solutions on deck to assist our members as needs arise.”
>Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said, “Many of the hotels had ‘clean beach’ guarantees and stepped up their various advertising/PR efforts. Some may have turned to social media as well to get out the word. The online travel agencies have also promoted the area.” He also pointed out that many hotels in the region are having to “buy business with low rates” which are resulting in “profitless occupancy increases.” (Indeed, a recent Expedia report showed average rates down as much as 30 percent in some areas.)
