McAllen occupancy and revenue numbers were up slightly for 2011 through third quarter, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce announced recently.

            “We are cautiously optimistic,” said Nancy Millar, Vice President of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. “While the third quarter itself was soft, year to date McAllen is actually ahead of where it was this time last year.”

            Figures show a 2.3% increase in total room revenues and a 1.1% increase in occupancy numbers. “These are obviously modest increases,” Millar said, “but especially in today’s economy any movement to the positive is a good thing.”

            Hotels with the largest increases include Homewood Suites, Springhill Suites and Residence Inn, all posting significant revenue increases. Homewood Suites’ room revenue grew by 23.1%and its occupancy by 15.5%; Springhill Suites saw increases of 27.9% in revenue and 16.5% in occupancy; and Residence Inn saw a 19.8% rise in revenues and 5.9% in occupancy.

            Winter months are traditionally strong for McAllen hotels, Millar said. “We hope to be able to finish the year with very strong numbers, and see those percentages take a healthy upward bump.”