Europeans first settled in the city that would become Charleston over 350 years ago. Charleston’s rich history is one of the drivers of its thriving tourism sector, which tallied 7.68 million visitors in 2022. In the hospitality industry, Charleston continues to make history, while local initiatives are also making strides to preserve it.
The pandemic’s prolonged impact on the New Orleans hospitality market exacerbated a slow period in the convention cycle. However, New Orleans remains a popular leisure destination, with new upscale hotel supply and renovations to demand generators. Market participants are confident that demand growth in 2024 and 2025 will help the city recover to its pre-pandemic metrics.
While the onset of COVID-19 had devastating effects for the Connecticut tourism industry, a recovery quickly began. By 2022, occupancy levels were only slightly below those of 2019, and ADR levels far surpassed those of 2019. The upcoming renovation of the XL Center in Hartford and the state’s “Find Your Vibe” campaign are key indicators of Connecticut’s recovery and success.
Charlotte is known as the Queen City, reigning as the most populous city in North Carolina and one of the nation’s largest banking centers. Charlotte has been somewhat slow to recover from the effects of the pandemic but is poised to become stronger than ever given overall economic growth and expansions at the airport and convention center.
While several new brands have emerged within the limited- and select-service segments over the past decade, the expansion of extended-stay brands was limited prior to 2021, and many of the U.S. hotels within this segment were dated. However, during the last two years, economy and midscale extended-stay brands have experienced a significant expansion.
The Raleigh market achieved historically high levels of economic activity and visitation in 2019. However, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the market suffered significant declines in business activity and hotel demand, similar to most metropolitan areas across the country. How did Raleigh sustain through the height of the pandemic? What is the market experiencing as it emerges from the pandemic, and what does the future look like for this state capital?
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the lodging industry has experienced unprecedented declines in demand. The Greater Gatlinburg market mirrored these declines in March and April – but soon after realized significant rebound in lodging and tourism demand. So, what is causing the swift recovery in Gatlinburg?
Three U.S. major professional sports teams—the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League, Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League—are based in Las Vegas. The importance of sporting events for the Las Vegas market extends beyond serving as the home for these professional teams. The return of sports will contribute to Las Vegas’ eventual recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year, HVS researches and compiles development costs from our database of actual hotel construction budgets. This source now provides the basis for our illustrated total development costs per room/per product type.
Asheville is recognized as a premier tourist destination in the Southeast U.S., and its growing and changing lodging landscape continues to reflect this Blue Ridge city’s popularity.