From the Mayor’s Desk, May 2021.
It is with great relief that we are seeing life begin to get back to some semblance of normal. The presence of so many companies in Technology Park led to the construction of a lot of hotels over the years; 13 to be exact. We are pleased to see them starting to come alive again. The luxury hotels are starting to see weekend occupancy rates increasing. The Marriott on Technology Parkway has been virtually full, at 85 percent capacity on weekends, according to the corporate sales manager.
Do you know who they have seen a lot of lately? Pickleball players. Apparently, we have an active group of people out there who enjoy Pickleball. And there was a recent tournament here that filled a lot of hotel rooms. What a great activity, especially during a pandemic, as a lot of the courts are outside.
People are getting back together. The Marriott is getting requests for family reunion bookings, and the ballroom was booked for training classes the entire month of April.
The Hilton reopened March 26, after being closed for a year. The management company is currently building the staff back up. They had 110 employees prior to Covid and now have a little over 40. They are at about 40 percent occupancy, with mostly weekend and leisure travel customers.
In the first quarter of 2021, the luxury chain hotels in the U.S. reported average daily growth of 3.4 percent, according to CoStar Analytics. Room rates go down when there is less demand. And it appears room rates are increasing in luxury hotels across the nation, which is an indicator that the economy is starting to rebound.
The one thing that all of our hotels need right now is housekeeping help. The summer months will be a struggle, according to the GM at the Hilton. Getting people back to work is critical. City staff is working with the hotels to organize a job fair for hospitality jobs. We hope to see continued activity as we head into the summer months. The hotel restaurants and bars are beginning to open up as well, so don’t forget they like to see local folks too.
Stay Safe,
Mayor Mike Mason
