Local hotels filling up

L.A. occupancy was at 85.2 percent in July, according to Colliers PKF (via the OC Register), while OC hotels were at 88.3 percent, helped along by the revamped California Adventure park (Anaheim occupancy was over 90 percent). The occupancy levels were actually down a nudge from a year earlier, but the more important "revpar" number, which tracks room rates and occupancy, was up 6.9 percent in L.A. and 5.3 percent in OC. Average room rates were also higher. These numbers are not a big surprise - employment in the L.A. County leisure and hospitality industry was up 4.6 percent in August compared with a year earlier. That said, these are not high-paying jobs, so this is not an industry you can count on for fully reviving the economy.