Jan. 27–Orlando-area hotels broke a record in 2013: highest-ever revenue per available room.
Called RevPAR, the figure is a way to measure the average revenue generated per day by each available guestroom in the market. In 2013, it hit $72.04, up 7.8 percent compared with a year ago, according to Smith Travel Research, which tracks hotel data.
That tally was enough to narrowly beat the previous record of $71.79, which was set in 2007 at the pre-recession height of the local hotel market.
Still, there is a wide disparity in RevPAR among Orlando’s various submarkets. Lake Buena Vista, which enjoys high occupancy and the area’s highest average daily rates, recorded revenue per available room of $88.29. West Kissimmee, where rates are much cheaper and average occupancy is the lowest in the market, had RevPAR of $34.09.
Southwest ‘on track’ with AirTran
Fresh off a record annual profit announced Thursday, Southwest Airlines said it is on track to retire the AirTran brand by the end of the year.
The Dallas-based airline, which is the busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport, said it plans to convert AirTran’s seven international markets and remaining domestic markets to the Southwest brand by the end of 2014.
AirTran is still operating flights out of Orlando International Airport, where it was the fourth-busiest carrier during fiscal year 2013. The airline flew 3.5 million passengers through OIA, or about 10 percent of the airport’s passengers.
Southwest bought Orlando-based AirTran Airways in 2011. But as a domestic carrier, Southwest faced a key obstacle in integrating the two carriers because AirTran also flew international routes.
Gary Kelly, Southwest’s chief executive officer, said in the company’s earnings release that the integration of AirTran resulted in $400 million in annual net pre-tax synergies in 2013.
“We are pleased with the rapid improvement of our developing markets as we convert AirTran routes into Southwest and optimize our combined networks,” said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. “With our international reservation system scheduled for implementation later this month, we remain on track to convert AirTran’s seven international markets, along with its remaining domestic markets, by the end of this year.”
More rules for vacation homes?
Three years after the Florida Legislature exempted the fast-growing vacation-home rental industry from new local government regulations, lawmakers may be ready to reverse course.
A pair of Republican legislators from northeast Florida — Sen. John Thrasher of Orange Park and Rep. Travis Hutson of Elkton — have filed bills that would repeal the 2011 law, which prohibits cities and counties from enacting ordinances that either ban vacation rentals or force them to comply with hotel-style regulations.
The repeal effort arose in Flagler County, where there has been an increase in the number of homes being used as vacation rentals — and in subsequent complaints from permanent residents in those neighborhoods. But despite the complaints, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an opinion in October that Flagler could not enact any restrictions.
The Senate version of the bill (SB 356) has already cleared one committee on an 8-0 vote.
The 2011 law included an exemption allowing any local laws already on the books to stand. That was a concession granted to lobbyists for Walt Disney World, which views vacation homes as competition and wanted to preserve existing restrictions in Orange County.
In another piece of legislation with implications for the tourism industry, a pair of Central Florida Republicans — Sen. David Simmons of Altamonte Springs and Rep. Jason Brodeur of Sanford — want to create a new tax break for tickets to Major League Soccer’s all-star game.
Florida law already exempts from sales tax tickets to all-star games organized by the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball or National Basketball League, which boosters say helps venues compete to host the annual events. Tickets to the National Football League’s Super Bowl and Pro Bowl games and the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Final Four basketball games are also exempt from tax.
In addition to the all-star game, the NBA’s tax break also covers tickets to several ancillary events, including a rookie challenge, celebrity game, three-point shooting contest and slam-dunk challenge. But the new legislation would expand that to include any “all-star events produced by the National Basketball Association and held at a facility such as an arena, convention center or municipal facility.”
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jrgarcia@tribune.com or 407-420-5414
