HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — As coronavirus has slowed the movement of people across the country, many businesses are already feeling the impact, from restaurants to retail shops and more.
Hotels and other lodging are not exempt.
According to Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, data from a global firm shows hotel occupancy rates fell 63 percent in Virginia for the week of March 22-28 compared to the same period in 2019.
The average daily rate for hotel rooms also dropped to $75.19, a 33 percent decrease.
Revenue per available room — what the Dragas Center calls “an industry standard of the health of the lodging sector” — fell to $19.32 — a 75.4 percent decline from the previous year.
Occupancy fell 72.1 percent in the Virginia part of the Washington, D.C. market, 56.5 percent in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach market and 72 percent in the Charlottesville market.
The Dragas Center warns further decline is likely to continue as self-distancing is further encouraged across the country.
“With the governor’s shelter-in-place order announced this week, we project that occupancy rates in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach market will fall from the reported 28.8% in the latest report to below 15% in the coming weeks. If the shelter-in-place order remains in effect until June, we expect a long recovery for the lodging sector in the region,” the center said.
