Calif. hotel foreclosures way up as travel plunges

Hotel foreclosures in California more than tripled in the first nine months of this year as business travelers and vacationers cut spending.

Foreclosures climbed to 47 in January through September from 15 a year earlier and properties in default more than quadrupled to 259, the Atlas Hospitality Group said in a statement. Declining occupancy rates and a dearth of credit for refinancing loans taken out during the real estate boom is squeezing the travel industry.

Hotel owners are struggling after adding rooms and properties from 2004 to 2007, when financing was easy to find.