Tempe hotels achieve a record breaking $175 million in room sales in 2018

For Immediate Release:
January 31, 2019

Contact:  Toni Smith
Director of Communications
(480) 894-8158


Tempe hotels achieve a record breaking $175 million in room sales in 2018

Tempe Tourism Office shared highlights at their Annual Meeting on January 31

Tempe, Ariz. – The Tempe Tourism Office shared accomplishments from the past year, highlighted new programs and honored local partners at their annual meeting held today, January 31. In the past two years, demand for Tempe hotels grew substantially with almost a quarter of a million more rooms rented in 2018 than were realized just two years earlier.

More than 150 tourism industry professionals and community partners attended this event at The Showcase Room in Tempe.

Brian McCartin, Tempe Tourism Office President/CEO, and Margaret Dunn, Board Chair, provided highlights from the past year.

  • In 2018, Tempe realized $175 million in hotel room sales, a 12% increase over 2017 and $36 million more than 2016. Last year, 108,000 more rooms were rented than in 2017. That is in addition to the almost 138,000 more that were rented in all of 2016, an overall growth of almost a quarter of a million rooms in two years.
  • In Fiscal Year 17/18, the tourism office hosted 35 travel writers and seven social media influencers, and attended media missions in key markets such as New York, Mexico City, Los Angeles and Toronto. These efforts generated 48 articles with a total of 10.5 million impressions.
  • The Tempe Tourism Office launched an advocacy campaign to help educate local residents and business owners about the impact of tourism on the city’s economy. According to a 2015 Tourism Economic Impact Study, Tempe is visited by 3.7 million tourists a year and direct visitor spending is $730.5 million annually. The staff has shared numbers like these in presentations to merchants at Arizona Mills, Tempe Marketplace and Downtown Tempe, as well as the City of Tempe staff and local Kiwanis Clubs.
  • The group sales team works with third party meeting planners to help generate hotel bookings in Tempe. In 2018, the partnership with HelmsBriscoe produced 163 bookings with a value of $2.2 million in revenue. A marketing campaign targeting meeting planners on the Cvent platform resulted in 258 group bookings that totaled $7.2 million in revenue.
  • In a new partnership with ADARA Media, Tempe Tourism can now track the impact of digital ad placements. In the past six months, online ads have generated 2.7 million impressions and have directly resulted in more than $58,000 in hotel revenue.
  • The Tempe Tourism agency of record, Davidson & Belluso, recently launched a new ad campaign featuring colorful, eye catching imagery with playful taglines such as “Spring Training + Poolside Playing” and “Nature Hikes + Cultural Delights.” And, work is now starting on a new website with a mobile first focus and integrated user generated content. Monomyth is designing the new website, which will be completed in June 2019.

During the event, the tourism office team recognized several partners and organizations who have been an integral part of the hospitality industry. Awards were presented as follows:

  • Partner Appreciation Award: Boat Rentals of America – Tempe Town Lake
  • Partner Appreciation Award: Sun Devil Fitness Complex
  • Impact Award: Ironman
  • Spirit of Hospitality Award: Raveen Arora of The Dhaba restaurant
  • Chairman’s Award: Shelley Hearn, retired Community Services Director for the City of Tempe

The Tempe Tourism Office annual meeting was sponsored by Phoenix International Sky Harbor Airport.

The Tempe Tourism Office is a non-profit organization devoted to marketing Tempe, Arizona as a desirable visitor and group destination.  To learn more, please call 480-894-8158 or visit www.TempeTourism.com.

Contact Toni Smith to set up an interview with Brian McCartin, President/CEO, or for event photos: [email protected] or 480-305-1372.

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