Hotel Occupancy Outperforms State and National Averages;
All Other KPIs Continue Year-Over-Year Rise

Raleigh, N.C. (Nov. 15, 2023) – Visit Raleigh has released the Wake County Tourism Industry Report for the third quarter of 2023. Key performance indicators (KPIs), hospitality tax collections and prepared food and beverage tax collections continue to see modest increases over 2022 year-to-date (YTD) levels. Hotel occupancy continued outperforming state and national averages, showing sustained strong demand for overnight visitation in Wake County.

Highlights:
Continued Growth for Tax Collections

  • Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $28.5 million through September 2023, up 18.1% YTD over 2022.
  • Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $33.3 million through September 2023, up 11.4% over 2022.

Group Business Overview

  • Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 91 events, tournaments, conferences, festivals and groups in the third quarter of 2023, welcoming more than 76,600 attendees to the area.
  • Through the end of September, hotel occupancy remained steady at 68.9% year-to-date (YTD), up 4.3% over 2022 and higher than the state and national averages for the same period.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

  • Visit Raleigh and GRSA booked 139 events for future dates, bringing more than 113,800 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $81 million in direct economic impact.

“Wake County’s hotel occupancy rates and high hospitality tax collections YTD illustrate the strong travel economy and demand in this region,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “The tourism industry continues to move in the right direction as we see increases in all KPI areas and the addition of new domestic and international flights and carriers into RDU International Airport.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in the third quarter of 2023.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
(January 1 – September 30, 2023)

KPI

Wake County
YTD

Wake County
% Change YTD

State Average
YTD

National Average YTD

Hotel Occupancy

68.9%

↑ 4.3%

63.2%

64.3%

Average Daily Rate (ADR)

$128.49

↑ 9.4%

$123.91

$155.77

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)

$88.54

↑ 14.1%

$78.25

$100.16

Hotel Room Night Supply

4.9 M

↑ 0.7%

↓ 0.2%

↑ 0.3%

Room Nights Sold

3.4 M

↑ 5%

↑ 1.4%

↑ 1.6%
 

All KPIs for the Wake County hospitality industry have continued to experience modest increases through the third quarter of 2023. According to STR, through the third quarter, Wake County Occupancy rose by more than 4% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) increased by over 9 % YTD and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by more than 14% YTD.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in Q3 2023:
Wake County saw continued increased visitation in the third quarter of 2023, leading to hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collection growth over the same period in 2022. Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $28 million through September 2023, an 18.1% increase over 2022. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $33 million, an 11.4% increase over the first through third quarters of 2022.

 

Tax Collections
(Jan. – Sept.)

Wake County
(2023)

Wake County
(2022)

Amt. Change

% Change

Hotel Occupancy

$28,582,032

$24,201,397

↑ 4.4 M

↑ 18.1%

Prepared Food and
Beverage

$33,307,716

$29,835,635

↑ $3.4 M

↑ 11.4%

Events Hosted in Q3 2023:
During the third quarter of 2023, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) together hosted 91 conventions, sporting events and groups and welcomed more than 76,639 attendees to Raleigh, N.C. The third quarter of 2023 was highlighted by key conventions, meetings and sporting events impacting overnight visitation including:


New Business Booked in Q3 2023:
The third quarter of 2023 was productive in bookings for future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County as Visit Raleigh and GRSA combined booked 139 groups totaling more than 113,800 room-nights of future business. Visit Raleigh and GRSA’s collective future bookings from this quarter will create a direct economic impact of more than $80 million.

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

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact Director of Public Relations and International Tourism Jessica Holt at jholt@visitraleigh.com.
 

About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh): 
As the official destination marketing 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 throughout Wake County. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 18 million visitors annually whose spending tops $3 billion. The visitor economy supports over 24,500 local jobs in Wake County and generates $287 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $601 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 nearly 18 million visitors annually whose spending tops $3 billion. The visitor economy supports over 24,500 local jobs in Wake County and generates $287 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $601 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org 

Media Contact:
Jessica Holt
Director of Public Relations and International Tourism
919.645.2654
jholt@visitraleigh.com

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