NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — People are not traveling right now because of the coronavirus pandemic and as a result, hotel occupancy has declined significantly across all the major markets in the Commonwealth.

ODU’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy forecasts that the decline in revenue will continue to drop across Hampton Roads because of the lack of vacationing and business trips.

According to STR data released by the Dragas Center, hotel occupancy in Virginia is down 63% and revenues are down 80% from this time last year.

In Hampton Roads, the data shows that hotel stays fell by 82% in Williamsburg, 65% in Virginia Beach, 54% in Norfolk/Portsmouth, 44% in Hampton, 43% in Newport News, and 39% in Chesapeake compared to 2019.

In some instances, data shows that the Average Daily Rate paid for a hotel room during the week of April 19 to April 25 dropped 41% and the Revenue Per Available Room dropped by 78%. That is putting some hotel stays less than $70 a room.

“We expect that hotel revenue will continue to decline over the coming weeks due to a lower demand for hotel rooms that can be attributed primarily to COVID-19,” said Professor Vinod Agarwal of the Dragas Center. “We should brace ourselves for a slower rebound as the state and nation reopen from COVID-19. It will take time for business and leisure travelers to fill rooms again.”

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