The average room rate for the entire state fell to $98.42 from $104.65 and in the Denver area it fell to $79.47 from $84.50.
Still, the worst appears to be over, Robert S. Benton, the co-author of the report tells GlobeSt.com.
''Since the month of September, the market has been improving,'' Benton tells GlobeSt.com.
For example, at the end of September, following the terrorist attacks, the hotel occupancy rate for the entire state was 55.3%, compared with 70.2% the year before.
The Denver area showed a similar trend at the end of September, with a vacancy rate of 57.8% compared with 73.5% in September 2000.
''Month by month, the market has improved since September,'' Benton tells GlobeSt.com. ''I think we're seeing a gradual improvement.''
In January, some of the smaller, more rural cities in Colorado, actually showed year-over-year improvements.
''Looking at the numbers, the smaller communities are not getting hit as hard by the downturn for lodging, which is pretty consistent with what we had been seeing,'' Benton says. ''Markets where people are driving to are not hit as hard as the larger market, such as Denver, where people are more apt to fly to.''
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