Lack of DNC bookings disappointing Chicago’s hospitality industry

As Chicago gears up for the Democratic National Convention starting Aug. 19, the city’s hotels and restaurants are confronting a lower-than-expected surge in hotel demand.

Hotel bookings have been lackluster leading up to the four-day DNC, with availability ranging between 63 percent and 70 percent at the start of the month, well below prior-year figures and markedly lower than the 90 percent occupancy rates seen in August 2019, Crain’s reported, citing data from CoStar Group.

“I wish that I could say to you, ‘We are booked solid and we are jam-packed.’ I wish,” said Michelle Durpetti, the owner of Gene & Georgetti’s, a steakhouse in River North.

Convention organizers inked contracts with 40 hotels for a block of about 15,000 rooms, or close to 30 percent of all hotel inventory in the central business district, the outlet reported.

While some of those are fully booked, others report occupancy rates of 50 to 70 percent. Some hotel operators say they will require much less staffing than originally thought.

The DNC kicks off a 70-day stretch of high-profile events in Chicago that gave hotel operators high hopes, the outlet reported.

But the event could be deterring non-DNC tourism because of uncertainty around protests and security, CoStar’s national director of hospitality analytics Jan Freitag said. Business owners are questioning whether high-profile events like the Democratic convention and a NASCAR Chicago Street Race last month actually detract from the hospitality industry because tourists want to avoid them.

Many restaurants in the downtown area had anticipated a surge in business related to the DNC but reservations are comparable to or slightly lower than last year’s figures. Some restaurants are extending their hours in hopes of capturing last-minute bookings, but there is a general sentiment of disappointment.

Tourism has been returning to Chicago, but hotel revenues haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Revenue per available room averaged $148 last year, which is a little lower than in 2019, but it lags far behind when accounting for inflation, according to CoStar

— Andrew Terrell

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