Growth in Chicago’s Leisure Hotel Room Demand Set New Records in Q1 2016

Growth in Chicago’s leisure hotel room demand set new records in the first quarter of 2016 and drove overall performance to surpass post-recession average performance.

With 1.448 million rooms occupied, leisure demand set new records in all three months of the quarter for a total increase of 6.8 percent from the first quarter of 2015, Choose Chicago announced.

In total, first quarter 2016 hotel performance saw 1.99 million rooms occupied, surpassing the first quarter post-recession average of 1.75 million.

“We are making strategic investments that generate results and ensure we drive tourism in Chicago no matter the quarter or the circumstances,” Choose Chicago Board Chair Desiree Rogers said.

Chicago experienced a record-setting 2015 with domestic visitation surpassing 50 million visitors for the first time and total visitation expected to exceed 52 million.

Chicago’s tourism industry has added more than 15,000 jobs since 2010, including an estimated 3,800 new jobs in 2015.

Tourism in 2015 also generated $935 million in total tax revenue, $2.2 billion in revenue for Chicago’s hotels and $124.1 million in hotel tax revenue.