The county’s hotels are filling up, customers are paying more for their rooms and it’s only going to get better, industry experts tout.

For 55 straight months, the average daily rate for a hotel room has gone up in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, a true sign of a rebounding economy, said Anne LeClair, president of the San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

San Francisco/San Mateo now ranks third in the country for both occupancy and average daily rate behind New York City and Oahu Island, according to a report by Smith Travel Research.

The occupancy rate for San Francisco/San Mateo hotels was 84.1 percent for 2014, behind leader New York City at 84.8 percent.

The average daily rate for a room in San Francisco/San Mateo was at $207.81, behind New York City’s $263.45 and Oahu’s $221.18, according to the travel report.

Los Angeles ranks fourth on the list for occupancy and two other cities, Anaheim and San Diego, also rank in the top 10 markets, according to the report.

“Everything is going beautifully. It’s all good news,” said LeClair

LeClair notes that rates are expected to climb 5 percent this year and another 5 percent next year.

Average daily rate is what hotel managers are looking for and the business traveler is the industry’s bread and butter, LeClair said.

The construction of lots of new office buildings is helping to fuel the surge. More office workers means there are more business travelers flying in who pay premium prices for hotel rooms, she said.

The typical seasonal downturns are also not as dramatic as in previous years, she said.

Hotels on the coast are doing well and Bayside hotels are doing well also, she said.

It’s a good trend for cities as they reap more in taxes from out-of-town visitors.

Half Moon Bay’s hotel tax revenue is up, Redwood City’s hotel tax has increased by 7 percent and San Bruno will earn an extra $1 million from the tax this year.

In Burlingame, an influx of visitors have driven hotel tax revenue to an unprecedented peak.

Burlingame’s 13 hotels are a key component of driving the local economy. Tax on the city’s 3,742 hotel rooms brought in $3.1 million more than the previous year, accounting for 38 percent of the city’s current general fund proceeds, according to a January report by Finance Director Carol Augustine.

Hotel taxes generated $21.3 million for the city last year, up from $18.2 million the year prior, marking the most that the city has ever received in hotel tax revenue, according to Augustine’s report.

Hotel owners have also invested in remodels and renovations to attract millennials as they start to travel more. Aloft in Millbrae is an example of that, LeClair said.

bill@smdailyjournal.com

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