Hotel rate increases in February set new record

Hotel rates in North America jumped more than 7% for both business and leisure travelers in February, marking the biggest year-over-year increase on record, according to data released Monday.

Hotel rates for business travelers jumped 7.1% in February, compared with the same month in 2011, and increased 7.3% for leisure travelers for the same period, according to data reported by Pegasus Solutions, a Dallas-based technology company for the hotel industry.

The previous record jump in hotel rates was a rise of 7% for business travelers, set in June 2011 and January 2012, and an increase of 6.4% for leisure travelers in June 2011, according to Pegasus.

The increases represent another sign that the hotel industry has rebounded from the recession, when rates dropped for 18 straight months starting in fall 2008, pushed down by slumping demand and a faltering economy.

Mike Kistner, chief executive of Pegasus Solutions, noted that the leap year added an extra day to the month of February. But he said growing demand was the main reason hotel rates shot up in February.

“By the numbers, February was a good month worldwide,” he said.

Pegasus declined to disclose the average hotel rates in North America but STR Global, a Tenn.-based business that provides hotel data and analysis, said the average daily rate in the U.S. was $103.18 in February.

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