INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis has been the leader in hotel occupancy for the past two weekends, and that includes spring break hotspots like Miami.
“It’s the main indicator of the health of a tourism ecosystem,” explains Chris Gahl from Visit Indy. “We are almost 96% busy in our city center. We haven’t enjoyed this hotel occupancy since Gen Con was here in 2019. “
Visit Indy attributes the success to the NCAA tournament, along with the Big Ten tournament and volleyball tournaments the week before. Even before March Madness arrived, there were more than fifty events in town safely in town. About twelve of these were events relocated from Chicago to Circle City. Indy’s hospitality industry is more tied to group activities than any other city in the country. The steady stream of groups has kept downtown shops alive so far.
“The process of [the NCAA tournament] When we come and vaccinations come, we feel like we’re going to take our step, ”added Phil Ray, general manager of JW Marriott. The number of NCAA teams is falling, but as capacity is not full there will be more hotel rooms. Even at the Final Four, we’re not sold out yet. You can get rooms for $ 200 this coming weekend or less. “
Last weekend, the JW Marriott was one of the “bubble hotels” for Player of the Tournament but is now open to the public. As other Indy restaurants have noted when delivering groceries to the hotel, the NCAA tournament players can have multiple meals at a time. The player’s appetite kept the culinary staff at the JW Marriott working long hours. Last weekend, the hotel generated almost half of its sales from food alone.
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