Hotel owners in Miami-Dade County are flying high to start the year. CoStar data shows the county ranks as the best performing market in the nation.
Miami-Dade hotels experienced an 88.2 percent occupancy rate for the week ending Feb. 24, a nearly 3 percent increase, year-over-year. That was enough to claim the top spot among 25 other major hotel markets in the U.S., CoStar data shows.
Last month, Miami-Dade hotels had a 78.5 percent occupancy rate, representing the second-highest performing hotel market in the U.S. Oahu, Hawaii edged out Miami-Dade with a 79 percent occupancy rate in January, according to a list compiled by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau using CoStar data.
In February, the average daily room rate for Miami-Dade hotels dipped to $311.20 compared to $313.65 during the same month last year. But revenue per room jumped to $274.44, a 3.7 percent increase, year-over-year, CoStar data shows. Miami-Dade ranked first among 25 hotel markets in both categories for the week ending Feb. 24.
Historically, February is one of the busiest months in South Florida’s peak tourist season with events such as the Miami International Boat Show and South Beach Wine & Food Festival attracting tens of thousands of visitors.
Investors are bullish on South Florida hotels with a flurry of properties trading hands at the end of last year. In December, Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts-based Global Vision Hotels paid $17.7 million for a Days Inn by Wyndham with 103 rooms near Miami International Airport.
The same month, Chicago-based real estate investor George Nediyakalayil also picked up a hotel near the airport. Nediyakalayil acquired the 190-room Even Hotel Miami – Airport for $29 million.
In West Palm Beach, a Holiday Inn and an adjacent hotel development site traded for $23.8 million. The buyer, Miami-based Activate Hospitality, plans on renovating and rebranding the 199-key Holiday Inn into the Delta by Marriott West Palm Beach, but has not announced plans for the development site.
Also in West Palm, Midwest Hospitality Group, also known as MHG Hotels, paid $20.5 million for a 103-room Marriott-branded property.