Miami Tops Most Expensive New Year's Destinations

miami

The U.S. hotel market is aiming high for year-end occupancy numbers, and will undeniably be seeing a boost from increased traffic during end-of-the-year celebrations. 

According to the Miami New Times, Miami is currently the most expensive destination in the U.S. to book a New Year's Eve hotel room. The South Florida city is currently sitting at an average rate of $286 per night during the festivities, edging out Los Angeles at $272 and then New Orleans at $249. 

While Miami is expected to see the largest ADR returns in the U.S. during the holiday, in comes in third place in the list of worldwide destinations for pricey rates, surpassed by Cancun ($311 per night) and Dubai ($302 per night). The much-lauded New York market is in a distant eighth place at $245.

The full list of these destinations includes: 

1. Cancun $311
2. Dubai $302
3. Miami Beach $286
4. Los Angeles $272
5. Edinburgh $268
6. New Orleans $249
7. Honolulu $246
8. New York $245
9. Punta Cana $239

10. Rio de Janeiro $232

Just because a city missed the top ten doesn't mean it isn't projecting a powerful end to 2015. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, hotels in the city are expected to record their highest occupancy numbers in 67 years. The last projections, from June 2015, saw the city's occupancy reach 89.4 percent, and Center City hotels are expected to top out at 77.4 percent, up from 75.5 percent last year. This will be the closest Philadelphia has come to reaching its record 83-percent occupancy attained in 1948.

New data from STR Global shows that while occupancy for the Americas region was down 0.6 percent to 59.7 percent during November 2015, the U.S. reported a 1.1-percent increase in occupancy (to 59.4 percent), a 3.4-percent increase in ADR (to $115.44 percent) and a 4.3-percent increase to revenue per available room (to $68.60).

Part of this has been due to a shift in priorities and goals, such as renewed faith in convention center and group travel as reported earlier by International Meetings Review. The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that 33 percent of the room nights sold in Center City Philadelphia were attributed to the convention and group segment, while the leisure and business segments will fill in 31 percent of room nights.