Despite a drop in the number of large conventions coming to Boston next year, hotel occupancy is expected to rise, a testament to the market’s healthy mix of tourists, business travelers, and convention-goers, according to the hospitality consultancy PKF Consulting USA.
Average occupancy rates in Greater Boston are forecast to hit 72.4 percent this year and 72.9 percent in 2013, even as the number of conventions generating more than 2,000 hotel room nights decreases to 19 in 2012 from 24 this year. As a result, room nights generated by citywide conventions are projected to fall 33 percent.
A similar drop in convention center demand took place in 2011, the year overall occupancy rates in the Boston area hit an 11-year high. Large conventions account for less than 6 percent of the demand for hotel room nights in Greater Boston, PKF said.
In the years ahead, PKF is predicting a steady rise in hotel occupancy rates: 73.8 percent in 2014, 74.1 percent in 2015, and 74.3 percent in 2016. Average daily room rates are expected to rise accordingly, from $158 this year to $199 in 2016.
The Massachusetts Lodging Association is set to release its 2013 forecast Tuesday.