While occupancy and room rates are up in Charlotte, convention business is down

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Business is booming at hotels in the largest city in the Carolinas although convention business is down.

The Charlotte Observer reports (http://bit.ly/1LLgaWTn ) that a key indicator of industry health – revenue per available room – should be $75 this year in Mecklenburg County.

It was less than $58 back in 2007 before the Great Recession.

And room occupancy is now about 72 percent, the highest it’s been since 2007.

The average daily rate at hotels in the county is also expected to surpass $100 for the first time this year. It was $91 in back in 2008.

The brisk hotel business means that convention business is down. With hotels getting better rates, hotel operators are less inclined to offer blocks of discounted rooms for conventions.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com