Fires drive down Napa, Sonoma hotel revenues in October
October's wildfire significantly impacted hotel occupancy and revenue in Napa County, and to a lesser extent in Sonoma, according to new data from an industry analytics firm.
Napa County's hotel occupancy last month declined nearly 25 percent, compared with October 2016, the STR trend report stated. October revenue in the county declined 36.8 percent, from $46.9 million in October 2016 to $29.8 million last month.
The hotel impact of the fires, which caused 43 deaths and destroyed nearly 8,000 structures in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Solano counties, was less dramatic in Sonoma County, but its hotel sector also experienced declines in occupancy and revenue for October, compared with a year before.
Average occupancy in Sonoma County was 75.4 percent, down 7.8 percent from a year ago. Revenue also declined, to $28.1 million, down 4.5 percent. In addition to thousands of homes, the fires also destroyed two hotels in Santa Rosa.
But year-to-date hotel revenues in both counties did not decline. Napa's $345.7 million in revenue through October was unchanged from the same point last year, while Sonoma County's revenue of $259.6 million was up 6 percent.
In Marin County, occupancy in October was up 2.4 percent, to 88.7 percent from a year before, and revenue was up 4.2 percent, hitting $14.2 million.
Solano County occupancy also climbed with October, to 80.6 percent, a 5.1 percent increase over October 2016. At $11.3 million, revenue for the county in October was up 14.7 percent.
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