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Local hotels had record year in 2015

ALLISON SLONAKER
Special to the Legal News

Published: February 11, 2016

The hotel business in Columbus had a record breaking year in 2015 and that success is expected to continue through 2016, according to Experience Columbus officials.

All three of the major indicators for the industry reached record high numbers by the end of the year in central Ohio, according to the Smith Travel Research.

During 2015, hotel occupancy increased 3 percent to 65 percent and the average daily rate increased 5.5 percent to $99.11.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 8.7 percent to $64.47. RevPAR is a performance metric used in the hotel industry, which can be calculated by multiplying a hotel’s average daily rate by it’s occupancy rate.

Also, bed tax collections increased 10.4 percent in 2015.

“2015 was a tremendous year for our hotel industry,” said Brian Ross, Experience Columbus president and CEO. “And, we’re proud of the record-breaking figures citywide and downtown. The future looks bright. This year we are excited for Port Columbus to finish its modernization initiative and the Greater Columbus Convention Center to progress in its renovation and branding project. Looking ahead, we’re setting big goals collaboratively with the community that include aggressively increasing the number of national conventions and sporting events in Columbus and raising the national awareness of all our city offers.”

The occupancy rate of the hotels located in downtown Columbus increased by 6.3 percent to 70.3 percent.

The average daily rate was $136.17, a 5.6 percent increase, and the RevPAR increased by 12.3 percent to $95.72 percent.

“The Greater Columbus Sports Commission had its most successful year in generating hotel room nights, through both bidding on and hosting events,” said Linda Logan, Greater Columbus Sports Commission executive director. “The NHL All-star Weekend, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships and NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series made 2015 a landmark year for sports in Columbus. We look forward to the opportunity to have another strong year in 2016.”

There were a total of 126 conventions, sporting events and groups, including seven city-wide events, that had 750 rooms or more on peak in Columbus during the fourth quarter of 2015.

The Ohio School Board Association brought in 9,500 attendees, the Association for Middle Level Education drew 5,000 attendees for the national annual meeting, Materials Science & Technology welcomed in 3,000 visitors and the American Association of School Librarians hosted 3,500 for the 2015 National Conference and Exhibition.

Some of the large groups included in future bookings include the 2017 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships, 2018 Arnold Sports Festival, African Methodist Episcopal Church 2019 AME Women’s Missionary Society Quadrennial & Young People’s Convention, United States Institute for Theater Technology 2021 Annual Conference & State Expo and the AmericanHort’s 2019 Cultivate.

Last year hotel bed tax collections increased 10.4 percent, or $4 million, due to increases in daily rates, according to reports from the Columbus Auditor Hugh Dorrian.

The funds from that support not only Experience Columbus, but cultural and arts programs, social services, affordable housing programs and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority.

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