Local hoteliers and hospitality officials are bracing for a soft 2018. And some in the industry are pointing to the fallout from a controversial 2015 law as the culprit responsible for an expected one-year downturn.
In the last two weeks of the year, Visit Indy signed deals to bring 41 conventions to Indianapolis in the next five years. Those deals helped push the group close to a new annual record for advance bookings of hotel rooms.
The number of hotel rooms Visit Indy booked into future years took a tumble in 2016 to the lowest level since 2013. But local tourism and hotel officials aren’t overly concerned.
After initially seeking a five-year extension that would keep the massive gaming convention in Indianapolis through 2025, Gen Con officials have changed their request.
Visit Indy CEO Leonard Hoops told Capital Improvement Board members that standing pat is not an option when it comes to hospitality infrastructure, but a major expansion wouldn’t be needed in the near future.
The closure of a handful of hotels across the city has essentially wiped out the gains made when the JW Marriott opened with its 1,005 rooms. Now Visit Indy and the city’s Capital Improvement Board are studying whether the city needs more rooms and more convention center space.
The annual report of the city’s Capital Improvement Board shows the number of events at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium—and the total attendance for those events—fell sharply from 2014 to 2015.
Gen Con is the biggest and highest-profile convention to use both the stadium and convention center since the 2011 expansion—and others are watching to see how it works.
The Knights Inn at the airport had a couple of rooms left at $899 per night Wednesday, according to Expedia. And a room could be had at the Red Roof Inn in Anderson for $446.
Local officials say Indianapolis should continue to host NCAA events despite rules adopted by the association on Wednesday to assure LGBT rights and protections.
In a sign of the city’s serious intent to host the game, Pacers President Rick Fuson will be accompanied by presidents and vice presidents of Visit Indy and the Indiana Sports Corp. as he travels to Toronto this week.
Visit Indy officials are aiming to begin site inspections of White River’s downtown banks this year to determine the feasibility and costs associated with developing tourist attractions there.
The museum is arguably the Indy area’s most magnetic force, luring visitors from virtually every state in the country and six of seven continents.
Hotel rooms booked by Visit Indy rose to a record in 2015. But the number of bookings from out-of-state organizations plummeted by more than 100,000, possibly because of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act controversy.
Indianapolis has hit pay dirt with a multiyear deal intended to keep the lucrative NFL Scouting Combine here through 2020, just as competition to host the high-profile event intensifies.
The survey found that only 45 percent of the 339 meeting decision makers polled agree with the city’s post-RFRA battle cry “Indy Welcomes All.” And a mere 28 percent surveyed agree with the statement “Indiana Welcomes All.”
The Indianapolis gathering place is ready for its fifth addition, say the city’s top convention promoters.
The conference is expected to draw presidential candidates and national media because it will come not long before the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
A message on the home page of www.visitindy.com says that all are welcome to visit the city, and a separate page highlights some of the businesses that support the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community.
A deal struck 10 years ago to bring the men’s Final Four to Indianapolis every five years has become a much-beefier cash cow for the city than any of the pact’s architects could have imagined.
