Hotel Deals Continue in San Francisco

San Francisco continues to offer some good deals for weekend or midweek getaways. Although it looks like the city's hotel occupancy and rates are inching up -- a sign of an economy that is improving slightly -- hoteliers are keeping rates relatively low. The average rate in San Francisco was $127.76 in 2009 and 2010 doesn't look much different.
The city's travel industry met last week at the annual Visitor Industry Outlook Conference and heard some good news: people are ready to travel again and the trend toward staying home on vacation -- the "staycation" dreaded by the travel industry -- may be ebbing.
David Bratton, a managing partner at Destination Analysts, which conducts consumer research, said recent surveys show that 32.6% of Americans will spend more on travel this year than last year. "People are definitely starting to feel better about the economy," he said.
San Francisco drew 15.4 million visitors in 2009, a 6% drop from 2008. Still, the city's hotel industry is in relatively good shape, reporting an average 71.4% hotel occupancy in 2009 (5% down from 2008). Even with the drop, that occupancy is higher than most other American cities. And tourism continues to be a major economic driver for the city: On an average day, 125,000 out-of-town visitors are walking the streets of San Francisco.
San Francisco's hotels have deals right now. Check Kimpton, Joie de Vivre and all the major chains. The Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf has a $119 rate for Thursday nights through April 30. And, check out the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau site.
On another note, my travel app to Chinatown was written up by the Examiner here.