Wake County Occupancy Rates See Significant Increase in September

Raleigh, NC -- In a report released today, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau
announced a significant increase in Occupancy Rates for September.

In September, Wake County's hotels had an occupancy rate of 61.7 percent, a 7.2 percent
increase over September 2009. Year to date, occupancy is 58.7 percent, compared to 56.6
percent for the previous year to date. Wake County's figures are well above the 54.6 percent
average for North Carolina and 59.9 percent average for the country for the same month. These
figures were reported by Smith Travel Research, an independent research company serving the
hospitality industry.

The meeting, convention and sports markets are huge economic drivers for Wake County and in
September notable groups that held meetings or sports events in our area included:

  • USA Baseball National Team in Training Identification Series (Sept. 10-12); Total Visitors:
    1,500; Estimated Economic Impact: $518,000
  • American Trucking Association (Sept. 17-23); Total Attendees: 700; Estimated Economic
    Impact: $570,000
  • Association for the Study of African American History (Sept. 27-Oct. 2); Total Attendees:
    500; Estimated Economic Impact: $421,000