Philadelphia hotel industry especially hard-hit by economic slowdown.(industry statistics and information)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

In Orlando, hotels are instituting layoffs and hiring freezes.

In Washington, D.C., a smart tourist can snag a room for under $100.

And in Philadelphia this year, hotels already are feeling more pain than most, with rapidly falling occupancy rates and, for the first time in many years, a significant drop in demand.

Nationally, hotels saw their "revenue per available room" -- a signal of demand drawn from room rates and occupancy levels -- drop 2.6 percent in April (to $54.29 from $55.73), the worst drop since June 1991, according to the latest available numbers from industry trackers at Smith Travel Research.

In Philadelphia, April numbers showed "revpar" was down even more, dropping a whopping 25.9 …