The average daily U.S. hotel rate in 2009 fell 8.8 percent year over year to $97.51, according to Smith Travel Research

, and occupancy dropped 8.7 percent to 55.1 percent. STR described the year as the "worst in the modern hotel industry." Each of the 25 largest markets experienced a lower average daily rate, ranging from a 4 percent drop in New Orleans (to $113.52) to a 21.8 percent decline in New York (to $215.14).