Hotel revenues confirm tourism rebound

FORT MYERS — Hotel revenues rose 14% in the first quarter in Lee County compared with the same quarter in 2012 as tourism staged a recovery.

Revenue per available room, an important gauge of the hotel industry that combines average daily room rate and occupancy, rose 14% to $142.23 in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to research firm Davidson-Peterson Associates.

The average daily rate rose 5.5% in the first quarter to $173.79 compared with the first quarter of 2012. Average occupancy rose 8% to 81.8% in the same period.

An estimated 732,267 people visited Lee County and stayed in paid accommodations in the first three months of this year. That's a 9.4% increase over the 669,555 people who stayed in paid accommodations in the same period in 2012.

In a survey of Lee County property managers, 78% reported bookings for April, May and June is the same or better than the same period one year ago.