Daytona Beach, FL - Volusia County's hotels and motels rebounded nicely in June after bad weather threw a wrench into several big events the month prior.
Hotel occupancy for June 2018 came in at 77%, 19% better than May and a 2% rise from the June prior, according to the latest numbers released today from the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
May's 58% occupancy was also a 14% drop from the same month last year, which CVB officials say was due in large part to heavy rain scaring away tourists from coming on Memorial Day weekend and Subtropical Storm Alberto, which caused a brief scare after going through the Gulf of Mexico just prior to the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
RevPar - or "Revenue Per Available Room" - also went up by $27.40 in June compared to the month prior, per CVB statistics. June's RevPar of $99.01 was 3% higher than in June 2017, while May's RevPar was $71.61, a 1% drop from the May prior.
One of the few positives this past May for hoteliers was a 3% increase in the "Average Daily Room" rate when compared to May 2017. May 2018's ADR was $122.64, which was bested by June's $128.75, a rise of $6.11.
June's ADR did not increase or decrease when measured against the June prior, but bed taxes collected by the county still managed to rise by 8% that month, coming in at $876,143. May's haul of $622,844 is a 5.5% drop versus the same month in 2017.
CVB officials say the CEO Fighting Game Championships at Daytona Beach's Ocean Center had a lot to do with the June numbers, bringing over 7,000 attendees in the event's first year on the World's Most Famous Beach. It's due to come back next year despite safety concerns from organizers and attendees following the event, much of which was shared on social media.
June was also the month which saw an unusual amount of jellyfish stings on Volusia beaches as well as the derailment of the "Sand Blaster" rollercoaster on the Daytona Beach Boardwalk which sent 10 people to the hospital.
