Hotel occupancy rates were down again last month, but not quite as much as the year-to-date average.

Hotels in Salt Lake County filled 66 percent of their rooms in September, down from 73 percent in the same month a year earlier. The statewide average fell to 60 percent last month from 66 percent in September of 2008, according to the latest monthly figures from the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

Those 6 percent drop-offs were slightly better than the nine-month averages for 2009, which were down 8 percent statewide to 60 percent and almost 9 percent to 66 percent in Salt Lake County, the location of about half of Utah's hotel rooms.

Once again, hoteliers could not make up for the extra vacancies with higher nightly charges. The average rate was down $10 a night in Salt Lake County (to $90.64) and almost $8 statewide (to $88.53). For the first nine months of 2009, nightly hotel charges are down $5 to $7 from a year ago.

Davis County hotels recorded the highest occupancy rates last month (68 percent). Vacancies were greatest at Utah's mountain resorts, although the 42 percent occupancy rate there was comparable to last year's results.

Elsewhere, occupancy rates were 64 percent in Ogden, 57 percent in Utah County and Cedar City, 53 percent in St. George and Logan, and 68 percent in other parts of Utah.

-- Mike Gorrell


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