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HOTEL ROOM RATES in the city have risen so much this year that visitors have begun to avoid the Big Apple.
Sticker shock is keeping more families and even some business travelers away, while others are finding alternatives to the city's pricey properties. Some experts worry that if prices keep rising, the city's tourism boom could be stopped in its tracks.
"I haven't stayed in a hotel in New York for at least a Year," says Raven Manocchio, who travels to the city about six times annually from Durham, N.C., where he runs a small design firm. Now Mr. Manocchio stays with his in-laws, who have an apartment in Manhattan.
He's not the only one being priced out. For the first seven months of this year, hotel occupancy fell 1.2% to 83.8%, compared with the same period in 2005. At the same time, the price for a room has soared. The average cost of a hotel room in the city rose 11% to $241, according to PKF Consulting. This fall, the average room rate is approaching $300.
The decline in occupancy is the first since the strong second half of 2003, when the city began to reverse...