Local hotel business will lag state through next year

According to Smith Travel Research, occupancy of San Diego hotels year-to-date through October was up only 0.8 percent from the same period a year ago, to 73.6 percent.

For the first ten months of this year, San Francisco was up 2.9 percent, Orange County 2.3 Local hotel business will lag state through next year, and Los Angeles 1.7 percent.

Hotel expert Jerry Morrison says it is "great news" that $17 million of marketing funds have been restored, but he says local hotel business will lag the other coastal California metro areas through next year. The sequester is hitting San Diego hard, as military-related business is down.