Hotels are packed

So much for all the grief the local hotels went through after 9/11, when nobody wanted to travel. The July numbers from PKF Consulting show that the overall occupancy level in L.A. County was 82.2 percent, up from 81.9 percent a year earlier (I remember when occupancy in the mid-70s was considered really good). As for room rates, Beverly Hills weighed in at a crazy $376.92 a night, up 20 percent from a year ago. Here are occupancy levels for several markets, courtesy of the L.A. Economic Development Corp.'s weekly report.

Santa Clarita - 90.6%
LAX area - 88.5%
Santa Monica - 86.6%
Hollywood - 85.9%
South Bay - 84%
San Fernando Valley - 83.2%
Marina del Rey - 81.5%
Long Beach - 80.3%

Orange County's occupancy rate was 83.3 percent, down from 87.7 percent last year. San Diego's was 89.6 percent, up from 87.1 percent.