First half of 2008 produces occupancy drop in three of four regions -

The global hotel industry achieved positive year-over-year growth in average daily rate and revenue per available room for the first half of 2008, but most regions experienced drops in occupancy, according to data from STR and STR Global.

The data was gathered from more than 36,150 hotels comprising 4.93 million guestrooms worldwide.

The Middle East/Africa region paced the advances in ADR and RevPAR among sample hotels by posting year-over-year increases of 20.8 percent and 25.7 percent, respectively.

Through June, the region achieved ADR of $160.67 and RevPAR of $114.62. It was the lone region to experience a gain in occupancy, as it was up 4.0 percent to 71.3 percent.

European hotels in the sample attained an ADR increase of 16.8 percent to $169.56 and a RevPAR jump of 15.3 percent to $110.35, while seeing occupancy drop 1.3 percent to 65.1 percent.

The Asia Pacific region's sample of properties experienced an ADR increase of 17.1 percent to $141.53 and a 12.5-percent RevPAR increase to $94.39. Occupancy for the region dropped 3.9 percent to 66.7 percent.

Hotels sampled in the Americas region posted a 5.1-percent increase in ADR to $110.14 and a 2.7-percent bump in RevPAR to $67.94. The region's occupancy fell 3.9 percent to 66.7 percent.

"Demand growth and occupancies are weak in most places around the world," said Mark Lomanno, president of STR and chairman of the board of STR Global. "Europe is exhibiting some of the same issues as the U.S. The malaise in the U.S. economy seems to be affecting a large number of countries, and all of the talk about the decoupling of the American economy from the global economy is turning out to simply be chatter. They are still quite intertwined."

He said rising fuel costs and food costs are affecting travel and will further inhibit travel if they continue to rise.

"Whilst the global hotel industry is experiencing some hiccups largely due to circumstances beyond its control, it has demonstrated an admirable discipline by maintaining rate through some turbulent times," said James Chappell, managing director of STR Global. "Slumping occupancies largely are a result of the cyclical nature of the business, and hoteliers can minimize the effect of such a drop by staying true to their revenue management philosophy."

Reporting the industry's first-half results highlights productive year for STR.

In June, STR signed a deal with The Bench, bringing to conclusion a process that has resulted in the formation of STR Global. This was the final piece of a puzzle that saw STR taking an initial stake in The Bench two years ago, the merger of STR's international service with Deloitte's HotelBenchmark team earlier this year and now The Bench becoming part of the new organization. The move creates global market coverage on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

STR Global is building a digital platform to enhance the way data is collected and distributed around the world. It is expected to launch in October.