Native tourism did significantly better than bigger cities in Washington

March 3, 2021, 6:37 p.m.

Esther Bower

Posted: Mar 3, 2021 at 6:37 pm

Updated: March 3, 2021, 6:41 pm

SPOKANE, Wash. – Tourism has been hit hard. Fewer travelers mean less business for hotels, but new data shows that Spokane is doing much better compared to bigger cities like Seattle and Portland.

The data comes from STR, Inc., a nationally used company for the collection of hotel data. Data from the report says Spokane saw more tourism action than other cities in 2020. In a normal year, Spokane would occupy around 80% of hotel rooms during the peak season. The last year was far from normal; However, Spokane remained competitive. The Spokane Valley was 70% full. Spokane County achieved 55 percent capacity and downtown Spokane 45 percent.

Seattle fared much worse – the city barely scratched the surface and only achieved an occupancy rate of 10% in 2020. The data shows the success at Spokane.

“There is no doubt that we outperformed our competitive targets. Any kind of movement usually creates some kind of economic expense, right, “said Jamie Rand, CMO for Visit Spokane,” whether it’s gasoline or groceries or whatever, so our job was just to keep them moving bring. “

When the pandemic broke out, Visit Spokane decided to market Spokane’s outdoor appeal as a safe place to travel during the COVID restrictions. Spokane is an auto city with plenty of natural beauty – perfect for a safe getaway.

“The goal was just to try to encourage people to come and travel safely,” Rand said.

While the numbers for Spokane look better than other cities, hotels have still been hit hard. They have lost money, many have closed and many are still feeling the pressure of the pandemic.

“Here we are, and what they said would never happen in the industry, we’ve seen properties shut down across the state,” said Anthony Anton, CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association. “On the hotel side, it’s building maintenance and operation. Your prime costs go on, keep adding to the bills, and keep building up debt servicing. “

Spokane County’s summer hotels average $ 100 per room. In 2020, Spokane County’s revenue per available room was only around $ 65.

“We hardly talk about them as much because they are allowed to be open, but the journey is over,” said Anton.

“This is one case where we’re the best of a bad situation,” said Rand.

To help the industry recover, experts are encouraging staying and examining the natural beauty that Washington has to offer as the state reopens.

“Your local travel industry will need you more than ever,” said Anton. “Help us get through this two-, three-, four-year window while we stop traveling from state to state and from internationally exploring Washington.”

“In terms of public awareness and understanding of where Spokane is, what it has to offer, I just think this time around is a tremendous opportunity for our community,” Rand said.

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