Halloween scared up hotel biz in October

Five Saturdays in October – which included the Halloween holiday – along with strong group meeting business in the Coachella Valley helped to grow hotel occupancy across most of the region.

Across the valley, hotel occupancy in October averaged 56.4 percent, up 7.3 percent compared to the same month last year, according to statistics released by Smith Travel Research, a tourism industry analysis firm.

Only the Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs market posted occupancy declines, dropping 13.6 percent from October 2014.

“October was stronger with groups,” said Scott White, president and CEO of the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Last year we generated 26 percent group occupancy, and this year we generated 29 percent. Leisure (business) last year was 25.1 percent and this year it was 26.1 percent.”

Having the fifth Saturday “makes a huge impact,” said Aftab Dada, general manager for the Palm Springs Hilton and member of the Greater Palm Springs CVB board of directors.

“All major cities performed well, especially Rancho Mirage due to the additional year of maturity of Ritz Carlton,” he added.

Rancho Mirage hotels saw the highest occupancy at 66.4 percent, a 16.9 percent increase from last year, according to the STR data.

Average daily room rates, which have steadily been on the march up not just in the Coachella Valley, but across southern California, were up 3.2 percent in the valley in October. And again, the strongest increase was in Rancho Mirage, where average rates were up 8.3 percent.

Airport passenger counts at Palm Springs International saw a seventh month of decline in October, as fliers adjust to a reduced number of daily flights to Los Angeles via SkyWest, which operates short commuter service for Delta, United and US Air. SkyWest passenger load was down 28.6 percent in October, compared to the same month last year, according to airport statistics.

Overall, 133,413 passengers went through PSP in October, 3.3 percent less than last year.

“I think we’re going to have a great November and December, but it’s going to be close,” Rob Elsner, chair of the Palm Springs Airport Commission, told fellow board members Wednesday, in hopes that PSP will surpass its record 1.9 million passenger mark from last year. “I mean, business is good at Palm Springs International Airport, but whether we break that 2 million mark, who knows.”

Not all airlines posted passenger declines. Nearly 27,800 fliers boarded or departed from Alaska Air jets in October, an 11.0 percent increase. And Virgin American showed strong gains in October, flying 37.8 percent more passengers last month than the same period last year, according to airport statistics.

“The American (Airlines) flights to Chicago start in October has been very helpful with this growth and indicates to us that we need to grow more lift from key markets,” White said. “Ideally we would like to see the Chicago route begin in late September. In order to attract these flights, we need to provide guarantees and or marketing support to ensure the flights are successful and consistent. Access is key to growing both group and leisure business in September and October.”