Report: Center City Hotel Room Occupancy Hits Record High
Photo | Veer
Philadelphia tourism is on a roll — and it’s driving hotel room occupancy to all-time highs.
In fact, Center City hotel room occupancy is projected to close 2015 at 77.4 percent, a record high, according to newly released data from Visit Philadelphia — an organization that markets Philly as a destination location. That’s up from 75.5 percent in 2014.
In 2015, visitors filled approximately 3.1 million hotel nights, the report said.
The cost of hotel rooms is also climbing, as the average daily rate is projected to hit $182 — also a record.
“People are coming for Philadelphia — the destination itself is the reason to visit, and travelers are doing it more and more every year,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia in a statement. “The Pope was here for a weekend. The rest of the year succeeded simply because of Philly.”
The uptick comes on the strength of leisure travel — a segment that accounted for 31 percent of Center City hotel room nights in 2015 but just 14 percent in 1997, the first year Visit Philadelphia kept such data.
“Once viewed as a gap filler during hotel need periods, leisure is now a critical part of the market mix,” a Visit Philadelphia statement said.
This graphic shows a breakdown of Philly travelers.
Source: Visit Philadelphia, PKF Consulting.
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