Lee, Collier hotels on the rebound

Perhaps more than any other region of the Gulf Coast, Lee and Collier counties are hugely dependent on what's simply known here as “Season.”

Season is essentially the make-or-break tourism months between January and April that determine how the rest of the year will go for the hospitality industry. Ask someone in Fort Myers how “Season” was this year, you'll get a friendly nod.

Now, data is starting to back those positive anecdotes.

The most revealing gauge of season is a metric called “revenue per available room,” or “RevPar” in hotel-industry parlance. It's the function of average occupancy and daily rates. We all know hoteliers can boost occupancies by lowering rates, but in a strong season both occupancies and rates rise, leading to rising “RevPar.”

Consider the data for March, the height of season in Lee and Collier counties and perhaps the most critical money-making month. RevPar rose 19% at Lee County hotels and motels in March compared with March 2010. In Collier County, RevPar increased 9% in the same period.

Industry insiders will caution that these increases are from low levels in 2010, when the cold weather chased many tourists away. But we'll take any increase.