Downtown Chicago hotels enjoyed a financially robust week during the Democratic National Convention, even though it didn’t fill as many rooms as anticipated.
Chicago’s downtown hotels didn’t reach full capacity during the DNC, but the four-day event delivered a significant revenue boost to the city’s hospitality industry, Crain’s reported.
Occupancy rates in the Central Business District averaged nearly 75 percent during the convention, an improvement from the 69 percent occupancy seen during the same week in 2023 but below the roughly 90 percent occupancy achieved during the equivalent week in 2019.
Even though the DNC failed to generate as many bookings as hotel owners hoped, the rates for those rooms were hiked. Revenue per available room averaged $142, a 75 percent increase from the same week in 2023. The numbers were still better than the typical performance in late August, industry insiders said.
“I think everybody expected to have pricing power, and so people went into the week [offering] higher rates,” said Bob Habeeb, CEO of Maverick Hotels & Restaurants.
Habeeb’s firm owns the Sable at Navy Pier, a 223-room hotel at 900 E Grand Avenue. The hotel’s occupancy exceeded 80 percent during the event. While pickup wasn’t what Habeeb expected, “it was still a solid week,” he said.
Results were uneven across the city, however. Luxury hotels that accommodated elected officials and VIP guests enjoyed higher occupancy rates than mid-tier properties, which were less busy than anticipated. A contributing factor was the discrepancy in bookings from the block of 15,000 rooms pre-negotiated for the DNC.
Some hotels reported fully booked blocks with nonrefundable deposits, while others had only 50 percent to 70 percent of their rooms reserved. The late disclosure of actual bookings led to frustration among some hotel managers who had hired extra staff in anticipation of a packed house.
Beyond immediate revenue, the DNC’s real value may lie in the long-term boost to Chicago’s image. The DNC attracted about 50,000 visitors, many of whom were experiencing The Windy City for their first time.
Though it’s too early to determine the event’s precise economic impact on Chicago, estimates from the DNC host committee put the figure at between $150 million and $200 million,
“You can’t put a price tag on what people are saying about the city right now,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. “We haven’t been in this honeymoon phase in terms of our reputation in quite some time.”
Looking ahead, Chicago hotels are preparing for another major event. The International Manufacturing Technology Show is expected to draw 110,000 attendees to the city from September 9-14.
— Andrew Terrell
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