![]() Speaking of, I would like to take this time to share with you a link and invite you to visit the newly launched Choose Chicago website. We will continue to update you on the variety of activities underway as we push toward year end and our defined goals of winning future convention and meetings business for the city, welcoming and hosting record-setting meetings this year and sharing our story around the country and the world and helping promote and sell this amazing community. I cannot find the words that capture the leadership and support she has extended to me in my role and again the many, many accomplishments that Choose Chicago has been a part of under her tenure as Chair. I would be remiss if I did not thank and acknowledge the incredible commitment of time, energy and passion for both Choose Chicago, our team and our city as demonstrated these past six years by our outgoing Chair – Desiree Rogers. I look forward, as does Glenn, to having many opportunities for Glenn to meet and interact with our members and partners in the months to come. His seasoned experience, subject matter expertise and civic involvement will serve Choose Chicago and our partners well. I would also like to take this opportunity to add to the welcome as Mayor Lori Lightfoot has just appointed Glenn Eden (executive vice president of Weber Shandwick) as Choose Chicago’s new board chair. We simply have to continue to strive toward increasing visitor volumes that exceed increase in additional hotel supply. The increase in Supply of 4.3% is outpacing the increase in rooms consumed and is dampening occupancy points and as a result, the ability of hotels to increase rates. Lastly, this is another year of increased Hotel Room Supply: five new hotels have opened so far in 2019. The current results for Group Room Demand in 2019 remains ahead of the pace set in 20. Group Demand remains cyclical comparing one year to the next. The additional graph included further illustrates the four-year steady growth of Total Room Demand (rooms consumed) including significant growth over the past four years in Leisure Room Demand (a four-year average of 4.8%). The overall net gain of 100,078 rooms consumed to date is due in part to a concerted effort to grow our leisure visitors. This said, we are on pace to welcome and host 39 major citywide conventions at McCormick Place this year. One will be returning next year and the other the following year. This includes the well-discussed and anticipated loss of two major citywide conventions that met here in 2018 and not scheduled to call Chicago home in 2019. Group Demand (including conventions) is pacing down as we predicted – down 5.6% (approximately 143,000 rooms behind last year’s pace). We are in the midst of an outstanding September (Demand is up 8.9% for the first 3 weeks of the month) so we will continue to watch carefully where we will be at the end of nine months and onward to year’s end.Īn encouraging trend through August is that Leisure Demand is pacing up 4.7% for the year (an increase of just under 240,000 room nights consumed year to date). ![]() This growth of 1.3% is tracking behind our projected growth of 2 to 2.5% increase for the year. ![]() As you can see by the charts I’ve included, for the first eight months of the year (January thru August) Hotel Room Demand (hotel rooms consumed) is up 1.3% compared to this point last year, representing just over 100,000 additional room nights consumed. A key barometer for the year’s “destination performance” is hotel data (Smith Travel Research’s weekly reports) obtained by 133 participating hotels in the Chicago Central Business District. Welcome to fall – and with it, the end of two-thirds of our operating year.
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