Comfort Inn and Suites opened its doors Tuesday as Vicksburg’s 30th hotel, but Paul Patel said he is not anticipating full bookings for at least the first quarter of 2009 due to the slow economy and a sharp increase in new hotel rooms in the city.

Since late October, the Comfort Inn is the fourth hotel to open in the city, and two more are nearing completion.

“The whole economy is slow, and we’re slow, too,” said Patel, who is regional director for Southern Hospitality Services, which operates the Comfort Inn as well as two other hotels in Vicksburg and one expected to open in late January. “(Occupancy rates) are probably going to be in the mid-50s for at least a couple of months.”   

Room rentals at Vicksburg hotels as reported to Smith Travel Research — and not every inn participates — took a nosedive in November — from 73 percent in October to just over 55 percent. Until the downturns, hoteliers in the city enjoyed some of the highest occupancy and average daily room rates on record this year. The year to date occupancy rate was 69.7 percent through October, while November represented the lowest rate recorded in Vicksburg since January 2007.

Lynn Foley, director of sales and marketing for the Wingate by Windham, speculated the decline is due moreto the economy than to a rise in inventory in Vicksburg. Wingate opened Nov. 7, and was the only hotel among those that opened in recent months to begin reporting to STR in November. La Quinta Inn & Suites and Riverwalk Casino and Hotel opened their doors in late October. 

“It’s typically a slow time of the year for everybody, and the economy is not helping any. Corporate and family travel is slowing down quite substantially,” said Foley. “We’re pacing as well as the rest of the market is doing. We knew what to expect opening the doors when we did, and we’re meeting those expectations.”

Wingate has been advertising a special opening rate of $89 per night to try to drum up some business, but Foley said she hopes to see occupancy and rates rise in the coming months.

Southern Hospitality Services is nearing completion of its Courtyard by Marriott property, which neighbors the Comfort Inn near the Outlets of Vicksburg, while a Candlewood Suites is being built by Premier Hospitality Group on South Frontage Road in front of Home Depot. With the opening of those two hotels, the number of hotels to open in Vicksburg since October will reach six, and the approximately 500 new rooms will account for a 20 percent increase in Vicksburg’s total inventory of roughly 2,500 rooms.

However, 13 hotels — fewer than half of the city’s total properties — are paying members of STR and report occupancy and average daily rates. Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Bill Seratt said that may be creating a misrepresentation of the actual occupancy in the city. He suggested it is likely some of the lower-priced properties in town could be doing better than the November STR averages.

“If people are watching their money closer, I would imagine some are checking into some of the budget hotels that are not reporting to STR,” he said, noting he has heard of some hotels offering special rates as low as $29 per night.

Some of the newer properties in Vicksburg are charging upward of $150 per room per night, while older motels average around $40 to $50 per night. The average daily rate in the city has risen considerably in the past three years, from $62.65 in 2005 to $76.48 year to date through November.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com