Wake County hospitality industry continues to outperform 2017, future bookings hold strong

Raleigh, N.C. (Dec. 12, 2018) – The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) has released the 2018 Tourism Industry Report for the third quarter. Together Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 85 conventions, sporting events and groups during the third quarter of 2018 and welcomed more than 187,000 attendees to Raleigh, N.C. Additionally, all key performance indicators for the hospitality industry in Wake County are up year-to-date (YTD) over 2017.

According to the Smith Travel Research through the third quarter, Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased 3.6% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) grew 3.5% YTD and although Occupancy remains flat with only a 0.1% increase YTD, Wake County occupancy is still outpacing the national average.

Most significantly might be that hotel demand is still outpacing room supply growth even with more hotel room inventory coming into the market. Room supply has increased by 4.7% YTD while room demand is up 4.8% YTD. According to CBRE hotel demand grew 1.6% nationally in the third quarter of this year. Pittsburgh had the largest percent change YTD at 9.2%, followed by Phoenix at 7.6% and Raleigh-Durham coming in at the third largest demand increase at 7.1%.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
Third Quarter YTD (January 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018)

Chart 1.JPG

A busy third quarter was highlighted by a few key conventions, sporting events and groups impacting overnight visitation including:

  • International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass and Wide Open Bluegrass, combined attendance of 223,320
  • Jehovah’s Witness Convention, 24,000 attendees
  • Raleigh Supercon, 35,000 attendees
  • USA Baseball National Identification Series, 4,000 attendees
  • United States Specialty Sports Association Atlantic Coast World Series, 5,250 attendees
  • USA Archery JOAD National Target Championships, 1,700 attendees

“Typically, the third quarter of each year is the busiest for meetings and conventions and sporting events,” said President and CEO, of Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh), Dennis Edwards. “This year was no different and the third quarter produced strong numbers for our area.”

As a result of the increased visitation in the third quarter, year-to-date, through September 30, hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $20 million, and prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $22 million.

Chart 2.JPG

The third quarter was also productive in booking future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County as together Visit Raleigh and the GRSA booked 106 groups totaling more than 101,000 room-nights of future business. YTD Visit Raleigh and the GRSA have booked 302 groups for almost 195,000 room-nights, creating a direct economic impact of $152.3 million.

Future meetings, conventions and sporting events booked during the third quarter include:

  • SAS US Kick Off Meeting 2019: Jan. 15-18, 2019, 1,300 attendees
  • Association of Floodplain Managers: May 10-14, 20201, 1,000 attendees
  • 2019 United States Basketball Association Boys and Girls National Championships: July 16-20, 2019, 16,650 attendees
  • N.C. High School Athletic Association Basketball Championship: March 16, 2019, 6,107 attendees
     

About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh):
The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh), as the official destination marketing organization of Raleigh and Wake County, accelerates sustainable economic growth and development by increasing visitor and convention business. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes more than 16 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.5 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 26,170 local jobs in Wake County and generates more than $250 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $671 in taxes annually. VisitRaleigh.com.

About the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA):
A division of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) - the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) markets and promotes Raleigh and all of Wake County in order to generate and/or retain sports-related businesses (tournaments, championships, special events and meetings) for the purpose of economic development. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes more than 16 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.5 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 26,170 local jobs in Wake County and generates more than $250 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $671 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org

Media Contact:
Scott Peacock
919.645.2676
speacock@visitRaleigh.com

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