LOS ANGELES— U.S. hotel room revenues declined 16.3% in November, as a sharp business drop-off that followed the Sept. 11 attacks eased for the second straight month, said a Reuters report. Preliminary December data from Smith Travel Research indicated that the decline in room revenues has continued to ease, with revenues for the week ended Dec. 15 down 10.7% —a level which many analysts attributed largely to the economic slowdown. The overall 16.3% decline in room revenues for November came on the heels of a 17.7% decline in October and a 23.4% drop in September, Smith Travel reported. But despite signs of an improving trend, Hawaii and San Francisco saw steep declines in room revenues in November, with Hawaii down 40.1% compared with a year ago and San Francisco down 38.1%, according to Smith Travel. Analysts have attributed Hawaiis slowdown to a sharp drop in visitors from recession-mired Japan, while San Franciscos woes are blamed on the dot-com meltdown. The November data showed that U.S. hotels continued to lower room prices in a bid to lure back travelers who opted to stay home after Sept. 11. According to Smith Travel, the average room price of $86.03 was down 8.1% from a year ago, while the average hotel occupancy rate of 53.5% was down 8.9%.
