Tourists keeping Inland hotels full (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.)

Neither fire, mudslides, nor rain has dampened Inland Southern California's hotel industry, which fared better than the nation's last year, according to data from Smith Travel Research.

While 61.3 percent of the nation's hotel rooms were filled last year, occupancy rates for both San Bernardino and Riverside counties came in at 68.1 percent and 63.8 percent respectively.

Riverside County was also likely boosted by its two usual tourist destinations: Temecula and Palm Springs.

"We're extremely optimistic about the growth that is happening in the tourism industry here," which includes gaming, golf, wine and ballooning opportunities, said Kimberly Adams, the tourism director for Temecula's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Temecula filled more rooms, but Palm Springs bested the wine-producing region with its average room rate of $113.64 a night to Temecula's $100.42. Palm Springs' seasonal appeal, though, has kept the city's occupancy figures narrowly above the 2004 national average of $86.41.

Jan Freitag, the director of client services for Smith Travel Research, said Palm Springs' occupancy rate for March 2004 hit 95.9 percent and the average room rate was $150. But by June, occupancy fell to 40 percent.

The city is still largely seasonal but "the leisure traveler is still out there," Freitag said, referring to strong weekend numbers but low mid-week rates.

Steve Henthorn, the president of San Bernardino's Convention and Visitors Bureau, attributed that county's steady hotel performance to the region's overall booming economy. He said the inclement weather for much of last year and the beginning of this year wasn't much of a deterrent.

The fresh wildlife growth after the fires and rain has brought more people to the mountains, he said.

Jamie Wolcott, the executive director of the Big Bear Lake Resort Association, said the weather and fires were hurdles for the mountain resort's image, but that tourism has remained strong because of the early snowfall.

Idyllwild, another mountain destination, has experienced the opposite, said Gary Boedeker, the owner of The Lodge at Pine Cove. Boedeker said business has been slower than usual at the bed and breakfast he has owned for three years. He said most visitors have been "day-trippers, not weekend-stayers."

"I think we have a little bit of an identity crisis," Boedeker said. Too often Idyllwild is lumped together in the "mountain resort" category along with Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, he said.

"They've had mudslides and fires and Idyllwild has had none of that," he said. He thinks the recent weather problems and subsequent media coverage have tainted Idyllwild's image inadvertently.

Ontario's occupancy rate trounced the national average, but the room rate missed the average by about $10.

"I think the weekend is dragging the rate down," said Mary Jane Olhasso, the economic development director for Ontario's Convention and Visitors Authority.

But she said visitors won't have much luck finding a room in the airport-hub city during the week. "This is a business market."

Ted Weggeland, the director of the Historic Mission Inn Corporation, said advertising pushes in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County for the famed Riverside hotel could explain some of the tourism growth.

"The Mission Inn is getting some nice play nationally," he said, adding that the hotel has booked more corporate business visitors and weekend tourists.

THE NATIONAL AVERAGE occupancy rate and room cost in 2004 was 61.3 percent and $86.41. How did the Inland Empire compare?

Riverside County: 63.8 percent, $98.90

San Bernardino County: 68.1 percent, $65.19

Ontario: 74.1 percent, $76.59

Temecula: 71.8 percent, $100.42

Palm Springs: 61.4 percent, $113.64

Source: Smith Travel Research

By Kimberly Pierceall, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News