by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:00 PM ET, Tue January 30, 2018
Tourism officials in several Caribbean destinations are celebrating 2017 as an especially strong year for visitor arrivals.
However, hoteliers in the region likely view last year from a more muddled perspective based on data issued Tuesday by travel industry research firm STR.
Caribbean hotels posted mixed year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during 2017, said STR officials. Hotel occupancy declined by a slight 1.2 percent in 2017 versus 2016 to 66.4 percent. Meanwhile, average daily rate (ADR) inched forward by 1.9 percent to $204.64. Finally, revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose by less than one percent (0.7 percent) to $135.85.
The mixed bag of slight increases and declines in the Caribbean hotels' 2017 key metrics present a less vigorous picture of growth compared with the often rosy 2017 visitor totals posted by Caribbean countries including Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Grenada.
Indeed, the Caribbean hotels' 2017 occupancy was the lowest in the region since 2012, although the ADR was "the highest for any year on record in the region" said STR officials in a statement.
In the wake of the debilitating hurricanes Caribbean hoteliers encountered during 2017, it's plausible that the meager increases ADR and RevPAR statistics and the slight occupancy declines represent signs of the resorts' underlying popularity and strength with travelers.
"Even with the roughest hurricane season in years, and several countries missing out on their traditional fourth-quarter business, total-year performance remained positive for the region," said Rico Louw, an STR spokesman.
Louw added that the debut of new hotels and resorts across the Caribbean also impacted the 2017 results. "Although there was a rise in demand, a record-high jump in supply led to the overall decline in occupancy," he said.
The rise of Airbnb as a traveler hospitality option has also impacted results for Caribbean hoteliers. The home stay provider has brokered agreements with the governments of at least six Caribbean destinations and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
Airbnb has 41,000 listings in Caribbean destinations said Shawn Sullivan, Airbnb's public policy director for Central America the Caribbean. The firm's agreement with CTO will provide the agency with "an economic analysis of Airbnb's positive impact on local economies," said Hugh Riley, CTO's secretary general.
Caribbean government officials and other stakeholders will in turn "learn about the long-term benefits of the sharing economy and home sharing in particular," Riley said.
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