Data Shows Tourism on the Rise

Posted on October 7th, 2011 by

Things are looking up for the hotel and tourism industry.

What you just heard right now was sighs of relief and cheers for joy.

According from a recent report from the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, Chicago’s downtown hotel community had a great month for August. Hotels had 82.7% occupancy, which is up 2.7% from August of 2010. Chicago’s hotels also had a daily rate of $171.54, a 6.3% positive change, and revenue available per room rose to $141.94, a 9.1% change.

In terms of year to date, hotels had a 70.8% occupancy rate (up 3.1% since August 2010), an average daily rate of $170.44 (up 5.8%), and revenue available per room of $120.74 (up 9.1%).

Also, Chicago was selected as the host city for the World Routes Development Forum in September 2014. The city will host 3,000 delegates from the airline, airport and tourism industry to discuss matters related to commercial airline route development.

And in another piece of good news, the Chicago-China tourism relationship is thriving. Chicago had 97,000 visitors from China in 2010, which is up from the 72,000 they received in 2009 (a 35% increase). Thanks to Cathay Pacific Airways’ new nonstop flight to Hong Kong, Chicago now has six daily flights to China, reaching cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. That daily Cathay Pacific flight is crucial: it is expected to bring $200 million in new economic activity to the Chicago region, according to Don Welsh, president of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau.

People in the hotel and tourism industry see these trends continuing through 2012 and beyond.

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Illinois Tourism on the Rise

Posted on June 22nd, 2011 by

In a recent article published by the Chicago Tribune, statistics show that Illinois tourism rates jumped 5% in 2010. The state generated $29.3 billion in tourism, which translates to a $2.2 billion raise from 2009.

Gov. Quinn said the rising revenue has also supported several thousand jobs throughout the state. “With our world-class destinations and accessible locations, more people from around the world are coming to Illinois and staying longer,” he said to the Decatur Tribune.  Over the last year, the travel industry created near 300,000 Illinois jobs, and the state hosted more than 1,000,000 international visitors.

While Chicago tourism rates were a bit on the downslide (dropping by almost 1%), the city is still fairly optimistic, as its 7.4% increase in overnight leisure travel surpassed the national 6.6% average. And, Chicago still remains as the state’s largest tourist attraction, drawing in 38.1 million of Illinois’ 84.7 million visitors last year.

In fact, the city is working to become more of an international travel and winter destination.

“Even when it’s cold, we still have the music, theater and great restaurants,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, Don Welsh.

In 2010, the city ranked as the 10th most popular city for international travelers. The 1,134,000 visitors represented a 2% increase from 2009.

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The End of an Era

Posted on April 6th, 2011 by

After an amazing 25-year run, the Oprah Winfrey Show will film its last show on May 25, 2011. In an article that was published on the Huffington Post earlier this week, writer Pam Grout encourages folks to schedule their trips to Chicago ASAP to see the reigning queen in action. An added bonus? Winfrey will be surprising 300 lucky audience members with a 10-day excursion to Australia.

While tickets to the show are free, they’re incredibly difficult to come by. Grout’s tip? Ask a Concierge! Harpo Studios has a special concierge hotline that select hotels use to score tickets. The full Huffington Post article is viewable here.

Oprah tickets aside, the impact of concierge on Chicago’s visitor market is undeniable. Almost five million referrals are made by Chicago’s 750-plus city and suburban concierges with over 1.3 million dining recommendations; 1.1 shopping suggestions; advice on 658,000 nightspots; and almost 1.2 million referrals to the Chicago area’s various cultural attractions being made each year.

Whether you’re looking for Oprah tickets, to dine at the latest hotspot or to discover Chicago’s hidden neighborhood gems, Chicago’s concierge have the inside scoop. Find out more about Chicago concierges’ “Favorite Things” at ConciergePreferred.com.

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Trends Show Hotel Rates Rising

Posted on January 25th, 2011 by

In an article recently published by Crain’s Chicago Business, numbers from last year show that Chicago-area hotels are finally beginning to rise again after a continual drop in recent years. Occupancy rates for Chicago hotels rose from 56.3% in 2009 to 61.8% in 2010. The study was conducted by Smith Travel Research based out of Suburban Nashville.

This study gives hopes to local hotels as in 2009 prices were cut as occupancy rates dropped. At its peak, the hotel industry average was $132.19 for a room in 2008, just before the market took a turn for the worse. Last year’s average, $118.37 for a room, shows improvement; 4.5% to be exact. But this is nowhere the high watermark levels seen in recent history.

The price of a room relates back to higher occupancy rates because hotels are now having to sell off fewer and fewer rooms to discount booking sites such as hotwire.com ad priceline.com who are able to sell the rooms at a much cheaper price. Currently, it is estimated that these sites account for roughly 20% of hotel bookings in Chicago. In other terms, 1 in 5 hotel rooms booked last year were rented at a discounted rate. In 2008, this number was much lower, estimated to be roughly 8-12%.

So the higher occupancy rates is good news for hotels. By not having to discount the rooms, it increases the overall revenue per room which rose to $69.66 per room last year, and many analysts believe it will continue to rise. However, it will still be a few years before this number reaches what it was in 2007 when business was through the roof: $87.64 per room.

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