The average occupancy for hotels, hotel-condos and campgrounds for the weekend of Sept. 11 was 82.3 percent, or 24.7 percent higher than the same weekend in 2008, according to the latest data from the Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism.
During the week of Sept. 6, the occupancy was eight percent higher than 2008, at 50.7 percent, the data showed.
And hotels weren't just filling rooms. They were also making money.
The average daily room rate was up 0.6 percent during the week and 1.4 percent during the weekend compared to 2008. This worked out so that the revenue per available unit, or the amount of money made from each room rented, was up 15 percent.
This coming weekend, officials from the center forecast that occupancy will likely hit about 72 percent.
The forecasters concluded that also based on the forecast this weekend from weather.com, which is predicting a 50 to 60 percent chance of rain.
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