Meeting, convention business strong in Prov.-Warwick in second half of 2015

PROVIDENCE – Meeting and convention business was so strong in the Providence/Warwick area in the second half of 2015 that it pushed up demand for rooms for the individual traveler, in turn driving up room rates.
That’s the assessment from the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, which is presenting data Thursday to lodging and restaurant industry managers at its member meeting and mid-year review at 3:30 p.m. at the Providence Marriott Downtown.
Tom Riel, vice president of sales for the CVB, said the average hotel room rate from July through November of 2015 increased 9.3 percent – to $162.67 from $148.77 for the same period last year.
“When we have a lot of business in the [R.I.] Convention Center, we reduce our available inventory, allowing hotels to increase rates [as demand from the individual leisure and business traveler remains strong],” he said.
The CVB reports its data for the fiscal year from July 1 through June 30.
“We have a fantastic conference setup with the walkability of downtown between our convention center and our restaurants and hotels,” explained Riel in assessing why demand has been strong. “It’s a compact, walkable market which is a great ‘sell’ feature for us. Right now business travel is up. People are attending conferences again after the lull in the economic downturn. Our meetings and conventions industry has recovered and is stronger than ever.”
Throughout calendar year 2015 there were 228 events, with about 125 of them in the second half of the year (which is the start of the CVB’s fiscal year), Riel said.
Direct spending that resulted from the impact of meetings booked by the PWCVB and R.I. Sports Commission during that period totaled $30 million, according to data provided by Riel and Kristen Adamo, the CVB’s vice president of marketing and communications.
In addition, average hotel occupancy was 78.6 percent, above the 77.1 percent measured for the same period in 2014, Adamo noted.
Riel and Adamo also planned to present information about future bookings, which show a range of eight events starting in June and extending through 2019.
Events already scheduled include a June, 2019 meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution, which involved the booking of 3,465 rooms and is expected to generate $2.9 million in revenue. This summer, the New Life Worship Center is meeting in June, reserving 1,324 rooms, and generating $1.3 million in revenue, Riel and Adamo said.

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