The number of overnight guests staying at hotels in the Historic Triangle, and the rate they paid per night, was up in 2012 when compared to 2011.
In 2012, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Historic Triangle stood at 36.95, an increase from 33.43 in 2011. The area’s highest RevPAR was 47.54 in 2000. RevPAR is calculated by multiplying the average rate charged per room by the occupancy percentage.
“While we are encouraged that occupancy is up, we are discouraged [that it’s not up more],” said Ron Kirkland, executive director of the Greater Williamsburg Tourist Information Center.
For the year overall, the percentage of rooms occupied in the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County was up, at 44.3 percent, 39.3 percent and 46.1 percent occupied, respectively. The average rate charged per room was up in Williamsburg ($80.48) and York ($86.72) but was down in James City County ($96.80).
Smith Travel Research, Inc., compiles information on hotel occupancy, room rates charged and revenue earned from overnight visitors coming to the Historic Triangle on a monthly and yearly basis. With information broken down by the City of Williamsburg, York County, James City County and the Historic Triangle as a whole, the data is used to evaluate how successful the area is at drawing out-of-town visitors.
Kirkland said 89 percent of hotels in York County report data to STR, 77 percent of hotels in James City County report and 54 percent of hotels in the City of Williamsburg report.
“Overall about 70 percent of the rooms in the Historic Triangle are reported,” he said. “For the most part, this represents all of the nationally affiliated brands and some of the independent establishments. Nationally the reporting rate is about 71 percent so … Williamsburg’s reporting data is in line with the rest of the United States.”
STR compiles reports for the Historic Triangle with numbers from other area tourist spots such as Asheville, N.C., home of Biltmore Estate, Charleston, S.C., Nashville, Tenn., Virginia Beach and Richmond. All these markets had increased overnight guests and increased room rates.
Kirkland said there is no excuse for underperformance at this level when the Historic Triangle has so much to offer. The decrease in overnight guests to this area has decreased at such a large rate that a great increase is needed to put the Historic Triangle at the point it was at before the decline.
The decrease cannot be attributed to any one person or event, Kirkland said, but “we have to figure out how we’re going to get more people to come here.”
