(iStock / illustration by Alison Bushor for The Real Deal)
The lights are still dark at the Diplomat Beach Resort, a sprawling 1,000-room oceanfront hotel in South Florida.
More than a year after the pandemic began, conventions and business travelers the lifeblood of such large properties remain sparse. And cruises, which usually feed hordes of passengers to hotels, are still halted.
While leisure travelers have descended on South Florida over the past six months, pushing hotel rates up and boosting occupancy, the hotel market’s overall recovery still hinges on the return of conventions and cruises, as well as international travelers, experts say.