By Rosario Fajardo From Caribbean Business

Most people know that life in the Caribbean can be paradise. For the hotel industry, 2015 has been a particularly great year thus far, according to the most recent statistics from STR, the parent company of Hotel News Now.
There are an estimated 1,922 hotels in the Caribbean, with 229,930 rooms as of June, and the hotel industry reported increases in three metrics so far this year, according to a presentation by STR at a recent Hotel Data Conference held earlier this month in Nashville, Tenn.

For the region, hotel occupancy was up 3.2%, to 73%. Average daily rate (ADR) was up 4.3%, to $248.79, and RevPAR (revenue per available room) was up 7.6%, to $182.68. Rooms revenue, meanwhile, increased 9.2%, to $7 billion.

The top-five Caribbean destinations with the highest ADRs were as follows:

1. Turks & Caicos: $674.64

2. Bermuda: $411.79

3. Cayman Islands: $305.30

4. St. Lucia: $292.79

5. U.S. Virgin Islands: $276.91

“Life is really good in the Caribbean,” said Fatima Thompson, associate director of business development at STR.

In comparison, San Juan “reported nearly flat occupancy performance (+0.2%, to 82.6%). ADR in the local market was up 2.4% to US$157.75, and RevPAR increased 2.7% to US$130.24,” according to a July STR report.

“STR Global analysts noted the above 80% occupancy level in San Juan despite on-going economic woes in Puerto Rico,” said the report, referring to the island’s financial and economic problems related to its heavy $72.2 billion debt load.

The island has an estimated 15,000 hotel rooms, according to Puerto Rico Tourism Co. figures.

Photo: Cap Juluca – Anguilla by Tiarescott

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ustry-having-a-great-2015-puerto-rico-reporting-steady-numbers-115674.html