March Posts Good Numbers for Tourism

March Posts Good Numbers for Tourism

By Desiree Parker Saturday, April 24, 2010

Williamsburg area hotels have seen another month of higher room occupancy, according to March’s Smith Travel lodging report, and Busch Gardens was the likely stimulus.

For years, the local hotel industry has seen sinking occupancy rates, with the recession plunging numbers even lower. However, December and January saw occupancy numbers that weren’t down for the first time in a long while, and now March is looking a bit better, too.

December was up 15 percent over 2008, which Hotel Motel Association President Chris Canavos chalked up to the opening of Christmas Town at Busch Gardens. March occupancy numbers are up 7.6 percent from last year, and Canavos says Busch Gardens staying open all week for Spring Break is the likely reason.

“It just shows you that when the park opens earlier, it really makes a difference,” he says.

March and April are key indicators for how the year is likely to shape up, according to Canavos. Generally the two months are looked at together, because Easter can fall in either month. So far, April isn’t looking great – as of April 17, occupancy is down four percent compared to last year.

Canavos also points out that these numbers are based on the abysmal occupancy seen during the first full year of the recession, and a better indicator of how the area is doing is to look at the Williamsburg area in comparison to its neighbors (and competitors for overnight visitors) like Newport News and Virginia Beach.

In January and March, occupancy rates in Williamsburg were higher than in neighboring areas, which had’t been the case most of 2009.

Canavos says June and July are good months to get a feel for the year’s trend, but he’s glad to see some improvement early in the year.
The HMA aims for an occupancy rate of 58 percent, the number at which a hotel can make a reasonable profit. Even with better occupancy in March, 70 percent of area hotels are still under 40 percent occupancy; only 16 percent are at 55 percent or over.

Year-to-date, 85 percent of hotels are under 40 percent occupancy, and only one hotel is at 50 percent or better occupancy.

Comments

+4 #12 Guest 2010-04-27 12:39

Everyone here is right to one degree or another....by the way to build a convention center that people would actually come too would probably require better cell phone service, which means a tower or two and we all know that ain't happening! just ask kingsmill conference center and all the business they lose out on because of lack of adequate cell service...this town has to move into the 21st century and accept some of the change that requires in order to truly progress...prog ress! what a concept....

Quote

0 #11 Guest 2010-04-27 12:23

Say what.... as usual you just don't get it...and you probably never will. Timeshare sales are a pittance of what they were just a few years ago. Hotel supply has been relatively consistent for years. As a matter of fact Hotel supply was about 3.36 million in 2009, 3.53 million in 2000, and 3.32 million in 1989. So supply is actually down and is basically at 1989 levels. The problem is we are not at 1989 levels of occupancy. March of 1989 was 47.4 % occupancy on relatively similar supply. That's 50,000 room nights in one off season month. You should really do a little fact checking before you spread anymore of your inaccurate comments.

Quote

0 #10 Guest 2010-04-26 16:35

In regards to Butch and Pinkney, I know why people don't seem to come here as much, it's attitudes such as yours. Pinkney, your comments about history not being fun, being dirty and boring and feces infested, well, it says it all. Butch, time share sales are going strong, their occupancy is up, Great Wolf has done wonderfully. You give percentages, the old saying is true, figures lie and liars figure, the room inventory is way up from what it was years ago. The industry has continued to build, over build according to Smith Travel. The restaurant industry has saturated the market, too many redundant choices. The day will come when Busch and Water Country will build on site hotels, when that happens many of the old and dilapidated ones will need to come down. This will leave a new business model to be developed. I must say the customer service in our area needs great improvements, too many non-english speaking workers, lackluster approach to guest services, no follow up marketing, and little to no cross promotion. Butch you also miss my point about military at the beach and their effects on room occupancy. The traditional way of marketing our area is over, we must market our sports venues, championship caliber fields and arenas, eco-tourism, bird watching, nature hikes, kayaking and boating. These areas are in their infancy of being marketed and developed. It takes time, effort and money. Not to mention a team approach to making these new venues a success for all. The new Christmas Town has shown it's potential for success to our region, we need to grow it with CW and York to create a new feel Christmas for our region. The arts festival will be 2 days starting in 2012, make restaurant week, restaurant month, create more higher end dining establishments downtown to create a food and wine district for foodies to venture to. I'm happy to say all this and more is taking place now. James City County recently adopted their Comprehensive Plan, in it included a chapter on the importance of tourism, did either of you participate in it? Of course not, no one from WHMA or WARA did.

Quote

-1 #9 Guest 2010-04-26 10:19

"Say What" - you seem to always promote the Alliance and CW no matter what they do. I'm sorry "PollyAnna" but what we all need to do is to provide constructive criticism wherever needed. The days of burying our heads in the sand and hoping that CW and its Alliance do the right thing are over. Business owners need to take back the city and how it's marketed. P.S. To your question, you'll never know if CW's numbers are up, because they don't share them. I think that fact alone is very telling as to how they choose to deal with the rest of us.

Quote

-3 #8 Guest 2010-04-26 08:41

say what....the reason that we compare ourselves to Virginia Beach is that pretty much everyone that visits there drives right by here..twice. The fact that we don't have a beach is a good point...in the summer! I don't think that the beach is a big draw during the winter months. If you are advocating for a convention center I say let's build one..although there is ample convention space that goes unused in this town already. Again with all of the things to do in the historic triangle, even in March, with proper leadership we should be able to achieve more than 31% occupancy. You could literally have no marketing plan and get 31% and that's why people like me are calling for wholesale changes. We do not have the luxury of trying to tweak things a little anymore.

Quote

+3 #7 Guest 2010-04-25 12:31

I still can't get over the anger of Pinkney towards CW. Every post she makes, it's CW's fault, CW is no good and on and on and on. If you truly do work in the industry as you say, I hope it's not for CW. And if you are in the industry and badmouth CW to our area's guests, then shame on you. I appreciate the right to opinion, but you're just bitter.

Quote

-2 #6 Guest 2010-04-25 10:56

One key message to take away from the latest numbers is that CW is no longer the driver for area prosperity. People want FUN, and there is very little of that at CW. Congrats to Busch. Maybe we can get them to open another theme park. Just put yourself in the shoes of a mom and dad during a hot July day dragging your kicking and screaming kids up and down the dusty, manure-laden streets of CW trying desperately to find something, anything that kids can have fun doing. Not fun! The takeaway from all of this is to promote Williamsburg as an area that you can bring your kids to for roller coasters, interaction, water parks and excitement. Oh, and by the way, if grandma and grandpa come along they can spend a quiet afternoon at CW.

Quote

+7 #5 Guest 2010-04-24 09:46

Just goes to show you that as the tourist industry goes so goes the Historic Triangle area.

Quote

+5 #4 Guest 2010-04-24 08:43

To constantly compare to Virginia Beach like Butch does isn't a good comparison. First of all, we don't have a beach, we'll never have one. Second, Virginia Beach has a convention center, one was proposed here, it was fought on several fronts. It is being reported that business travel and conference business is up. Third the beach area has a high degree of military that is highly transient for temporary orders. We need to compare ourselves to similar type markets. Like I said, we are not out of the woods, but changes are taking place and that's a good thing.

Quote

+2 #3 Guest 2010-04-24 07:35

Don't get me wrong, more is better. But
what they don't tell you is that this huge 7.6% increase in occupancy took us from 28.9 % to a whopping 31.1% Say what would like to congratulate the leadership on all of their hard work. I would like to say that at 31.1% occupancy continues to be the worst in the state and swimming at the bottom of the barrel for tourist destinations in the entire country. These minor increases will be the type of mediocrity that we will slap each other on the back and tell ourselves how smart we are and isn't it wonderful. At the same time Virginia Beach which averaged over 50% occupancy in March and other destinations that actually have good leadership will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Quote

Refresh comments list

Add comment

WYDaily invites you to join the community conversation. We expect civil discourse here. Personal attacks on others, indecent language and bad manners in general are unwelcome.

JComments