Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 18, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Wednesday, April 3, 2019 4:00 – 8:00 pm FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BECOMING AN EXHIBITOR OR ATTENDING: Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce 508-836-4444 | www.corridornine.org CONNECT WITH 1,000 DECISION MAKERS at the LARGEST BUSINESS EXPO in the 495/MetroWest Region BUSINESS EXPO E 2019 PRESENTING SPONSOR: PLATINUM SPONSOR: MEDIA SPONSORS: SUPPORTING SPONSORS: Atlas Travel & Technology Group Bercume Associates, Inc. Cumulus Global HNE Health New England Intrepid Advisors LLC Mark's Moving & Storage RSM – MetroWest UNIBANK Wegman's Food Markets, Inc. Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Worcester Regional Airport EXPO MARKETING BY: HOSTING SPONSOR: TODAY'S VARIETY DoubleTree Hotel 5400 Computer Drive | Westborough M E E T I N G S G U I D E & G O L F D I R E C T O R Y F O C U S Worcester doesn't need more hotels e Worcester metropolitan area's hotel room supply has increased by 12 percent since 2013. At the same time, mirroring national trends, occupancy rates and nightly room rates have risen. More hotels are planned for Worcester, including as a key part of the $240-million, mixed-use Worcester Red Sox stadium development. When polled online, just over half of WBJ readers said the market can't handle more hotels. F L AS H P O L L Could the Greater Worcester market accommodate more hotel rooms in the near future? "We need more hotel rooms to attract larger conventions and accommodate visitors," Suzanne Despres, from Homewood Suites in Worcester. "It's so exciting to see Worcester taking off!! I get so excited reading about all that is going on, all the new things, including the new hotels. I think for now we have enough hotels, but as new things open and once the Sox are playing we'll need more." "As a farm team, the WooSox are a local draw for afternoon or evening entertainment at a cheap price compared to going to a Red Sox game. You'll need more than that to attract more tourists and conventions first." COMMENTS: Yes. Having more hotel rooms will attract more conventions and visitors. 30% Dunn, the general manager of the DCU Center. Larger conventions at the DCU Center sometimes require hundreds of upwards of 1,000 rooms, she said. "We could use more hotel rooms, definitely," Dunn said. "When we're at our peak, there aren't enough hotel rooms to service our visitors." In Sturbridge, with 11 hotels on or just off Route 20 alone, the industry has helped drive visitors to Old Sturbridge Village, along with weddings and meet- ings at a convenient location where the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-84 meet. "It's amazing what it does not just for Sturbridge but for the surrounding area," McNitt said of hotels and tourism. Whether or not the region's hotel market can continue growing, the indus- try is central to tourism, itself a major piece of the Central Mass. economy. Tourism accounted for $591 million of direct spending in Central Massachu- setts in 2017, according to the Massa- chusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. at spending – more than half of which took place in Worcester – supports an estimated 3,650 jobs and brings $13 million in local tax revenue, the office reported in March. Tourism spending was up 13 percent in a three-year period through 2017. A forecasted slowdown Increases in key hotel metrics in Greater Worcester mirrored what took place nationally, as the U.S. average oc- cupancy rate hit 66 percent, an all-time high, according to STR. e national av- erage daily room rate hit $130 last year. "Very basically, an upswing is what the U.S. industry has been on as a whole," said Freitag, comparing Worces- ter's growth to the nation's. Much of the growth nationally has taken place in the largest markets. Among hotel rooms under construction today, 42 percent are located in the 26 largest markets, Freitag said. More planned hotels in Worcester would join the market as STR forecasts a slowdown nationally, trending along a predicted slowdown in the overall economy. e total number of rooms is expect- ed to rise by less than 2 percent, which would still exceed the rate of four of the past five years. Occupancy rates nationally are projected to be flat this year – still at the all time high set in 2018, but no longer rising. Nightly room prices are projected to rise by just over 2 percent, less than any of the five previous years, according to STR. 9% Yes. We don't have enough now. 9% No. The region needs to draw more tourists or conventions first. 28% No. We have the perfect amount now. 24% W Yes. We'll need more once the WooSox start playing here.

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