The current occupancy rate of 57% can be explained by the increased supply of rooms and the relative decline of San Jose as a business destination.
The increased supply of hotel rooms in the capital is one of the reasons for the low level of occupancy, which as of January stood at 57%. This occurs mainly in hotels that attract business travelers or tourists who spend up to two nights prior to departure.
Beach hotels recorded the highest occupancy of 74.1%, local mountain hotels had 70.24% and those in the city had an occupancy of 69.23%.
Although the expectation of 78% occupancy projected by the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) was not reached, it was the highest average level in the last four years.
From a press release by the National Chamber of Tourism Canatur:
Central America is in the lead with a 34% average price growth of hotel reservations recorded in the region, while in North America it was 18% and in South America 14%.
From the Transhotel-HOSTELTUR Barometer published by Hosteltur:
The average price of hotel reservations in America during the first quarter of this year was $680, representing an increase of 20% according to the first edition of "Transhotel-HOSTELTUR".
An oversupply of rooms, the competition of "vacation rentals", Liberia airport, and the lack of an international convention center, are factors affecting the profitability of hotels in the capital.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "The average rate for a standard double room in the small three star hotel in the capital, Rincon de San Jose, dropped from $52.5 in 2011 to $49 in 2013.
Just two hotel groups showed an increase in December, with a variation of 0.8% in hotels with 51-100 rooms and 6.6% in those with more than 100 rooms.
From the Hotel Occupancy Survey by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels:
December occupancy was lower than expected
During December the annual change in hotel occupancy showed a negative change although less than the previous months, which was -2.2 pp, with the monthly average dropping to 59.9%.
The hotel industry ended the year with an occupancy rate of 65.5% in December, below expectations of 70%.
According to a survey conducted by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, the low occupancy rate was recorded both at the beach hotels as well as mountain resorts.
"As usual, the most sought after hotels are on the beach. Occupation in this sector was 84%, although in 2011 it reached 97%.
The Chamber of Costa Rican Hotels disagrees with the Chamber of Tourism in the perception of the profitability of the industry, and has suggested their separation.
A survey last month by the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) on the perception of the sector’s profitability, employment and demand for tourism services, showed a picture of optimism that surprised operators and industry observers, as complaints from Costa Rican tourism businesses have been constant since the crisis of 2008-2009.