Manhattan Hotels Fill Rooms With Low Rates | nytimes.com

No other sector in commercial real estate is suffering as badly right now as the hotel industry. In June, the average occupancy rate nationwide was 54.6 percent — by far the worst performance since Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, Tenn., began keeping track in 1987. Distress is rampant, with increasing numbers of hotel owners surrendering control of their properties to their lenders.