Dive Brief:
- This summer’s Republican and Democratic National Conventions are set to boost business for hotels in Milwaukee and Chicago — but the “similarities end there,” according to travel and hospitality insights provider Lighthouse, which found that the events are having “vastly different” effects on the host cities.
- While hotel room prices are soaring in Chicago for the nights of the Democratic convention, Lighthouse noted an “unusual pattern” in Milwaukee, where hotel prices are peaking on either side of the Republican convention dates, rather than in line with the actual event.
- Noting that Milwaukee is also a much smaller hotel market than Chicago, Lighthouse analysis showed that Milwaukee’s unusual pricing pattern around the event could be due to Republican planners making large amounts of early bookings — meaning there are now “little-to-no” centrally situated premium accommodations left for others to book.
Dive Insight:
In Chicago, where the Democratic convention will take place at the United Center from Aug. 19 to 22, average hotel room prices peak at $350 on Aug. 22, according to Lighthouse data.
In Milwaukee, however, average prices will peak at $349 on July 13, slightly before the Republican convention kicks off at the Fiserv Forum on July 15. Those prices then rise again to $319 on July 19, the night after the event concludes, according to Lighthouse.
Both events are the high point of future demand over the next 150 days in their respective markets, according to Lighthouse’s market demand indicator. But the “magnitude of difference between Chicago and Milwaukee is considerable,” per the data provider.
Republican convention lodging demand in Milwaukee is nearly six times the market’s annual average. In Chicago, demand for the Democratic convention is 1.8 times the average, Lighthouse data shows.
“A significant driver of this divergence likely lies in the different inventory available in each location and the bookings undertaken by each party,” Lighthouse detailed in a blog post. Just under 4,000 rooms are listed within a half-mile radius of Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, as opposed to more than 43,000 in Chicago’s Central Business District, per the city’s tourism board.
Additionally, Milwaukee was selected to host this year’s Republican convention in August 2022, whereas Chicago was chosen to host the Democratic event in April 2023. Lighthouse analysis notes this may have given Republican planners more time to book lodging before prices surged.
Milwaukee hotels have been planning renovations and updates ahead of the Republican convention for months, according to local news station TMJ4. As of December, downtown Milwaukee’s The Pfister Hotel and Aloft Downtown were in the midst of renovation work.
The lack of hotel inventory in Milwaukee, in particular, has led to a surge in short-term rental pricing in the market around the convention dates, according to Lighthouse data.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted in February that short-term rentals were still available in areas where hotels were mostly booked. And Milwaukee property owners are cashing in on the demand, listing their homes for thousands of dollars per night, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
In a forecast published earlier this month, CBRE projected that election-related events including party conventions will drive “modest” RevPAR growth in coming months.
