Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 29, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 19 202 Brigham St., Northborough, MA • 508-393-2444 For Tee Times: www.juniperhillgc.com Juniper Hill Golf Course Celebrating Over 85 Years of Golf • Friendly Atmosphere • Two well groomed, established courses • No membership fee • Excellent meeting facilities • 36 Challenging Holes • Top 10 Public Golf Course in Massachusetts • Golf Teaching Center Call us at 508-351-9500 Give the gift of golf Gift certificates for golf, lunch, lessons and equipment are available in the Pro Shop 508-393-2444 Outings & Functions 3 to 300 guests in a variety of settings W G O L F & M E E T I N G S F O C U S Challenging a growing market Hotel industry experts aren't predict- ing a quick return to pre-pandemic lev- els. Average daily room rates, for exam- ple, fell 21% in 2020, and are forecasted to rise by 5% this year, CoStar analyst Jan Freitag wrote in December. CoStar doesn't project room rates to hit pre-pandemic levels again until at least 2024. at's expected to crimp the number of new hotels coming online. e pandemic-related downturn comes as the growth of the Worcester area's hotel industry takes at least a short pause following three hotel openings from 2016 to 2019. Two have been delayed, including a planned roughly 100-room Home2 Suites across from the Homewood Suites, to be built by the same developer, Fall River-based First Bristol. Work is now slated to start within the next year. A hotel planned for across the street from the Polar Park baseball stadium on Madison Street has been pushed back to a May 2024 opening, and reduced in size from 262 units split between two brands to a single, 125-room development. One area is expected to bounce back earlier: weddings and other family events whose emotional pulls are harder to postpone. Corporate events aren't expected to take place as soon. "ose numbers definitely hurt the region last year, and that's what we need to make up," Messier said. Discover Central Massachusetts has been active on social media to keep the region in people's minds as they look to make post-pandemic plans, with recent posts of wintery photos, celebrating Wormtown Brewery's new taproom in Worcester, or the planned reopening of Armsby Abbey on Main Street, among plenty of others. e tourism agency posted tips on weddings in 2021, includ- ing downsized or outdoor ceremonies. ere's optimism for the rest of the year, with vaccinations rolling out quick- ly and people having pent-up demand to get out and travel, see family or feel a sense of normalcy again. Discover Central Massachusetts saw thousands of new social media followers during the pandemic, a sign, Messier said, people are eager for information on the area. e AC Hotel has begun seeing more regular guests again, Simone said. Hallak didn't make any predictions but said homebound pandemic life has grown old for many. "People are tired," he said. "ey want to get out and travel." 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 0 $30 $60 $90 $120 $150 0 25% 50% 75% 100% 0 $3M $6M $9M $12M $15M Occupancy rate Monthly revenue Average room rate 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J $105.46 $80.10 46.4% 45.7% $7.3M $5.1M 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 0 $30 $60 $90 $120 $150 0 25% 50% 75% 100% 0 $3M $6M $9M $12M $15M Occupancy rate Monthly revenue Average room rate 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J $105.46 $80.10 46.4% 45.7% $7.3M $5.1M 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 0 $30 $60 $90 $120 $150 0 25% 50% 75% 100% 0 $3M $6M $9M $12M $15M Occupancy rate Monthly revenue Average room rate 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J 2019 M J J A S O N D J F M A 2020 '21 M J J A S O N D J F M A J $105.46 $80.10 46.4% 45.7% $7.3M $5.1M Greater Worcester room rates Greater Worcester hotel occupancy Greater Worcester hotel revenues Average nightly rates for hotels in the Worcester area plummeted once the pandemic hit. Occupancy at Worcester area hotels dropped to as low as 23% in April 2020 but has rebounded to close to the region's typical winter levels. At the industry's worst point last April, revenue for the month in the Worcester area was just 22% compared to the same month the year prior. Source: STR

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