Survey shows skyrocketing hotel prices

Anyone who's stayed in a hotel in Odessa lately is likely to have noticed a bit of a jump in prices. And a national survey is taking notice, too.

A study conducted by Smith Travel Research that appeared in National Real Estate Investor magazine show the Odessa-Midland area as the third highest performing hotel submarket behind the Florida Panhandle and Concord-Salisbury, N.C.

The survey, which measured revenue per available room on a 12-month average through January, showed a 19 percent increase in the area.

"That shows that our hotels are really booming," said Linda Sweatt, director of the Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau.
While statistics provided by the Ector County Appraisal District show a 2.8 percent increase in Odessa occupancy rates between 2006 and 2007, room revenues jumped by 26.7 percent.

Bill Fulgham, appraisal district director of operations, attributes the increase in room demand and cost to the health of the oil and gas business, as well as some people staying in hotels long term.

Sweatt said it's a challenge to book groups into town with the room crunch.

"(Hotels) are always telling me, ‘We're full this week, don't send anybody in,' " she said.

With six new hotels planned for Odessa, Sweatt said she expects rates to remain stable. Still, since many of the hotels are close to Interstate 20 with limited conference space, places adequate for large groups will also be in demand.

But she's not complaining.

"We're doing great," she said. "People coming in are having no problem paying rates."

Gus, a claims representative with State Farm who declined to give his last name, said he's been in town several weeks assessing hail damage to vehicles. He finds Odessa's hotel rates to compare favorably to other cities he's stayed in.

He said he hasn't heard any complaints about rates from the corporate office.

"The (hotels) that I know about, they're all pretty fine," he said.