Published: Sunday, September 14, 2008
Tourist trade in Snohomish County slows
At Marriott Town Place Suites in Mukilteo, business is down, just like it is at hotels and motels around Snohomish County.
"They have slipped a little bit," said Rob Beggs, the Mukilteo inn's director of sales. He added the ongoing Machinists strike at the Boeing Co. is affecting the number of business travelers. But business from leisure travelers has been "pretty good."
And a flood of Canadian visitors has made up for declines in other travelers.
"That has really been a savior," Beggs said.
From January through July, the number of people staying in local hotels and motels had declined 5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Smith Travel Research Inc. But the average room charge was up 8 percent, to $92.05 a night.
That has helped to soften the blow for local hoteliers. And everyone seems to know that this summer's decline is part of a nationwide lull in tourism, thanks to a slow economy and rising travel costs.
Amy Spain, executive director for the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, said the county still is running second in the state, trailing only King County, as far as filling up hotel rooms this year. And the new Tulalip hotel has reported several sold-out nights and above-average occupancy since its mid-June opening.
The statewide average occupancy at hotels through July was 64 percent, down 2 percent from last year. The average room charge was $105.10, puffed up by high rates charged in Seattle and other areas of King County.
Certainly, hotel companies banking on this year's dip in overnight visitors to Snohomish County to be temporary. Last week, Seattle-based 360° Hotel Group broke ground on a new 134-room Staybridge Suites in Mukilteo. Spain said it will be a "beautiful" addition to the county's roster of hotels.
"It will be competition, but at the same time, it will add more rooms in our vicinity and bring more people into Mukilteo," Beggs said.
New hotels also are in planning stages in Lynnwood and Everett.
And at the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour, visitor numbers are up slightly overall, said Sandy Ward, the facility's marketing director. That is despite a 50 percent drop in visitors from this and other states in recent months.
"We have just been thanking our lucky stars for those international visitors we have," Ward said, noting that the number of visitors from Canada rocketed up by 150 percent compared to a year ago.
Canadian travelers continue to take advantage of the favorable rate between their currency and the U.S. dollar by staying, playing and shopping here. The Tulalip hotels managers have noted that up to 40 percent of their weekend guests are from Canada.
In October, the tourism bureau resumes special hotel rates for Canadian visitors in an attempt to lure more visitors here as the tourist season wanes.
The Boeing Tour has led all other attractions in the county in terms of visitors in recent years. But the Machinists strike has put a crimp in that, as the airplane factory floor is quiet and the tour's unionized bus drivers don't want to cross the picket line. As a substitute, Ward said, the Future of Flight has been busing visitors to Paul G. Allen's Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field.
Visitor spending in Snohomish County totaled $823.4 million last year, when many hotels here saw record occupancy levels, according to the tourism bureau. That's up nearly 6 percent from 2006.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
"They have slipped a little bit," said Rob Beggs, the Mukilteo inn's director of sales. He added the ongoing Machinists strike at the Boeing Co. is affecting the number of business travelers. But business from leisure travelers has been "pretty good."
And a flood of Canadian visitors has made up for declines in other travelers.
"That has really been a savior," Beggs said.
From January through July, the number of people staying in local hotels and motels had declined 5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Smith Travel Research Inc. But the average room charge was up 8 percent, to $92.05 a night.
That has helped to soften the blow for local hoteliers. And everyone seems to know that this summer's decline is part of a nationwide lull in tourism, thanks to a slow economy and rising travel costs.
Amy Spain, executive director for the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, said the county still is running second in the state, trailing only King County, as far as filling up hotel rooms this year. And the new Tulalip hotel has reported several sold-out nights and above-average occupancy since its mid-June opening.
The statewide average occupancy at hotels through July was 64 percent, down 2 percent from last year. The average room charge was $105.10, puffed up by high rates charged in Seattle and other areas of King County.
Certainly, hotel companies banking on this year's dip in overnight visitors to Snohomish County to be temporary. Last week, Seattle-based 360° Hotel Group broke ground on a new 134-room Staybridge Suites in Mukilteo. Spain said it will be a "beautiful" addition to the county's roster of hotels.
"It will be competition, but at the same time, it will add more rooms in our vicinity and bring more people into Mukilteo," Beggs said.
New hotels also are in planning stages in Lynnwood and Everett.
And at the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour, visitor numbers are up slightly overall, said Sandy Ward, the facility's marketing director. That is despite a 50 percent drop in visitors from this and other states in recent months.
"We have just been thanking our lucky stars for those international visitors we have," Ward said, noting that the number of visitors from Canada rocketed up by 150 percent compared to a year ago.
Canadian travelers continue to take advantage of the favorable rate between their currency and the U.S. dollar by staying, playing and shopping here. The Tulalip hotels managers have noted that up to 40 percent of their weekend guests are from Canada.
In October, the tourism bureau resumes special hotel rates for Canadian visitors in an attempt to lure more visitors here as the tourist season wanes.
The Boeing Tour has led all other attractions in the county in terms of visitors in recent years. But the Machinists strike has put a crimp in that, as the airplane factory floor is quiet and the tour's unionized bus drivers don't want to cross the picket line. As a substitute, Ward said, the Future of Flight has been busing visitors to Paul G. Allen's Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field.
Visitor spending in Snohomish County totaled $823.4 million last year, when many hotels here saw record occupancy levels, according to the tourism bureau. That's up nearly 6 percent from 2006.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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