Hotels performing above state average, future bookings still holding strong

Raleigh, N.C. (Aug. 6, 2020) – The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) has released the Wake County Tourism Industry Report for the second quarter of 2020. Key performance indicators and tax collections for the hospitality industry in Wake County have remained low due to COVID-19. The pandemic has continued to cause a significant decrease in group, business and leisure travel, hotel occupancy and event cancellations.

To date, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) have had more than 225 conventions, meetings and group sporting events that have been canceled throughout Wake County, totaling over 278,000 attendees and resulting in more than $118.5 million in total lost economic impact. Fortunately, 35 of these events were able to be rescheduled by the organization’s sales teams for a projected economic impact of $19.6 million.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted tourism and hospitality numbers, there is hope for the future,” said President and CEO, of Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh), Dennis Edwards. “Meeting planners and event organizers are still interested in the area and working with our team to reschedule events or book future business here in Wake County. Planners are incredibly receptive to learning more about our destination and are still booking out as far as 2024 and beyond for future events.”

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
Second Quarter YTD (January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020)

KPI

Wake County YTD

Wake County
% Change
YTD

State Average
YTD

National Average
YTD

Occupancy

46.6%

↓ 36.7%

43.3%

43.1%

Average Daily Rate (ADR)

$93.21

↓ 14.3%

$89.81

$109.04

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)

$43.41

↓ 45.8%

$38.85

$47.02

Hotel Room Night Supply

3.08 M

↓ 1.8%

↓ 0.5%

↓ 4.1%

Room Nights Sold

1.43 M

↓ 37.9%

↓ 34.9%

↓ 37.2%

Due to COVID-19 most key performance indicators for the hospitality industry fell during the month of March and have remained lower than normal through June. According to STR through the second quarter, Occupancy dropped by more than 36% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) decreased by 14.3% YTD and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) fell nearly 46% YTD. These results are comparable to what is happening across the state and on a national level.

Events Hosted in Q2 2020:
The COVID-19 pandemic and shelter in-place orders issued in March and Phase One and Phase Two of North Carolina’s reopening plan were implemented during the second quarter of 2020. Because of this, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) together only hosted two conventions, sporting events and groups during the second quarter of 2020. The primary sports group that impacted overnight visitation was the ESL League Play – PUBG MOBILE™ Pro League. This global online Esports competition consisted of 16 attendees for more than 200 room-nights in Raleigh in June.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in Q2 2020:
As a result of the continued decreased visitation due to COVID-19, YTD through June 30, hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $7.7 million, down nearly 50% YTD over 2019. Prepared food and beverage (PFB) tax collections totaled more than $11.7 million, down over 25% YTD over 2019.

Tax Collections

YTD

% Change YTD

Hotel Occupancy

$7,750,828

↓ 48.5%

Prepared Food and Beverage

$11,772,249

↓ 25.7%

New Business Booked in Q2 2020:
While COVID-19 has had rippling effects throughout the travel and hospitality industry, the second quarter was still busy in rescheduling and booking future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County. Together Visit Raleigh and the GRSA booked 42 groups totaling nearly 40,000 room-nights of future business.

Future meetings, conventions and sporting events booked during Q2 2020 include:

Rescheduled meetings, conventions and sporting events rebooked during Q2 2020 include:


About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh):
As the official destination organization for Wake County, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) is responsible for promoting Wake County as an attractive travel destination and enhancing its public image as a dynamic place to live and work. Through the impact of travel, the organization strengthens the economic position of and provides opportunity for people in the community. Raleigh/Wake County, N.C., welcomes nearly 17 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.7 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 27,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $268 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $700 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 to generate and/or retain sports-related businesses (tournaments, championships, special events and meetings) to drive economic development. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 17 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.7 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:
Jessica Holt, Public Relations and International Tourism Manager
919.645.2654
jholt@visitRaleigh.com

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