Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

According to Smith Travel Research, Orlando’s hotel occupancy rate was 57.9 percent for the week ending Oct. 17, 2009 — a drop of 7.8 percent from the same period a year ago.

Revenue per available room, an indicator of a hotel’s business, was $54.90, which was down 16.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

The average daily room rate fell 9.6 percent to $94.83.

Now all that these stats tell me is that people traveling on vacation or on business have found a better choice… a vacation rental home. It’s really not about money either, it’s all about the experience that a person is going to get. Let’s face facts, being couped up in a 300 to 400 sq.ft room with a small closet, one bathroom and one TV is not anyone’s idea of fun.

A smarter choice is a vacation rental. A vacation home is at least 1500 sq. ft in size and very often bigger. In fact it’s rather like having a large suite at a 5 star hotel but only better. The reason it’s better is that a vacation home has multiple rooms, a formal and informal living area and best of all, most Orlando vacation rental homes have their own private heated swimming pool to play around in.

Parking is also another issue. By now we’ve all become accustomed to being nickled and dimed at hotels for parking, and I won’t mention “resort fees”… but at a vacation home you simply pull up on the drive and walk a few paces to enter your home. Absolutely no extra charge and no pulling bags down endless hotel corridors.

So is it any wonder that occupancy in hotels is down while occupancy in vacation homes is up? It’s really not a difficult choice? So how smart are you? Visit www.FloridaLeisure.com and find out what awaits you on your next trip to Orlando.