Philadelphia Hotel Occupancy Hits New Milestones

Prompting Center City Hotels to Invest $160mil in Upgrades, Renovations

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. October 14, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 17, 2007. This year, 2007, promises to be a win-win for Philadelphia hotels and visitors. The city's convention, tourism, and hotel organizations today announced that: hotels have achieved a well-diversified market mix of leisure, convention/group, commercial, and government/airline business; and that the 2006 hotel occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) are healthy, thus sparking $160 million in hotel renovations. These conclusions are based upon the newest Philadelphia Hospitality Industry Snapshot, which includes final 2006 and first quarter 2007 hotel data.

The Philadelphia Hospitality Industry Snapshot, produced by PKF Consulting for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), and Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association (GPHA), revealed that for the first-time in Center City Philadelphia history, two nights-Wednesday and Saturday-showed hotel occupancy at 81%.

Hitting another milestone, Center City Philadelphia enjoyed a healthy 73.6% occupancy rate in 2006-the highest in the city since 1998. At the same time, the average daily rate (ADR) rose slightly to $156.34 in 2006, an increase of 8.6% from the previous year. Even with the increase, Philadelphia hotels still remain the best value on the East Coast for travelers.

As a direct result of more travelers sleeping over, developers are looking to build new hotel properties, ranging from upscale boutique hotels to national chains. Keeping the hotel inventory diverse and attractive is critical for selling and marketing a destination. And, this development will give visitors more choices in the future.

According to a survey by GPHA, Philadelphia hotels are investing $160 million in hotel upgrades, including fitness center renovations and in-room enhancements. Some of the projects will be completed as early as 2007.

"By having higher hotel occupancies and rates, Philadelphia hotels can reinvest in amenities, services, and visitor comforts that will keep customers coming back," said John Kroll, president of GPHA and general manager of the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing. "One third of the rooms in this city are being renovated this year, a sign of a healthy hotel environment and another milestone."

In the meetings and conventions market, the PCVB has more than 245 meetings and conventions booked for 2007, filling 482,993 total room nights with a $656 million economic impact.

Jack Ferguson, PCVB executive vice president, said, "In addition to the long-lead bookings, our short-term sales staff typically generates an additional 100,000 room nights for the year, within the year, in addition to what the individual hotels sell direct." The PCVB has launched a marketing campaign to encourage locals to "Bring it Home," which has already sparked a dozen leads for additional meetings and conventions.

"The real winners are our visitors," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, GPTMC. "GPTMC has nine distinct marketing campaigns that promise a vibrant, upscale, and exciting Philadelphia experience with so much to do visitors just have to sleep over."

Combining positive 2006 figures with 2007 first quarter data and an optimum market mix has led experts in the hospitality industry to forecast strong occupancy for 2007, and a conservative rise in ADR.