March was a record setting month for hotels in Greater Boston as the number of conventions doubled at the Hynes.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
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More gatherings at the Hynes Convention Center in March pushed Great Boston’s hotel occupancy to their highest level since 2005, according to the latest PKF Consulting survey.
The 90 hotel operators in the PKF Trends in the Hotel Industry sample for the region achieved an average 75 percent occupancy at a $168.16 average daily rate (ADR) with a resulting $126.19 revenue per available room (RevPAR). These performance levels represented an occupancy increase of 3.6 percent, a 1.7 percent increase in ADR, and an overall 5.3 percent rise in RevPAR compared to March 2012.
The March 2013 performance for Greater Boston hotels achieved the highest ADR since 2008, and highest RevPAR since 2007. The best March for the region over the last eight years, based on our Monthly Trends sample, was 2007 with a RevPAR of $127.82.
“March was a huge convention month,” said Andrea Foster, vice president of PKF Consulting. “The total room nights was 54,000 this year compared to 30,000 a year ago, that’s an 80 percent increase. Hynes had a notable convention with the World Irish Dancing Championship and that resulted in more than 22,000 rooms booked. ”
RevPAR increases were primarily driven by occupancy growth in the Back Bay, Cambridge, and Downtown submarkets. The Back Bay achieved a notable occupancy gain of 13.5 percent, in part, because the four conventions in March compared to two a year ago. Conversely, the Route 128 submarket witnessed RevPAR gains primarily driven by ADR growth. The Route 128 submarket had an ADR growth of 5.3 percent in March 2013.
On the down side, the Route 495 North submarket experienced a nearly 4 percent drop occupancy and ADR fell to $98.06, down from $100.13, a 2 percent dip.
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