Arlington hotel-occupancy rates tumble in new data

SUN GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS
May 14, 2020
May 14, 2020
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Pop-up hotel planned for Arlington — Drawing shows proposed residential development in the 900 block of South George Mason Drive in Arlington. The developer has asked for permission to use some of the apartments as hotel rooms for the first two years after construction.

Drawing shows proposed residential development in the 900 block of South George Mason Drive in Arlington. The developer has asked for permission to use some of the apartments as hotel rooms for the first two years after construction.

Arlington hotel and motel occupancy took a pummeling in March as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold, according to new data, while average room rates for the first quarter showed a slide.

March’s occupancy rate of 34.5 percent for Arlington resulted in a first-quarter occupancy rate of 52.3 percent, according to figures form Smith Travel Research reported by Arlington Economic Development.

The first-quarter total compared to a 65.1-percent occupancy rate for the January-February-March time frame in 2019.

The first-quarter average hotel room rate of $150.56 was running about 5 percent below the same period in 2019, when the average room rate stood at $158.77.

The average per-night room rate in March was $183.32.