EVERETT — When Jay Ohm and his father bought, renovated and reopened a 72-room motel in Everett in 2007, they were betting that demand for accommodations in Snohomish County would continue to grow.
It was a safe bet. Since the Ohms transformed the former Everett Inn inside and out and affiliated the property with La Quinta Inns &Suites, business has been good.
“It really picked up,” said Jay Ohm, who acts as the inn’s general manager in addition to being a co-owner. “La Quinta does a really good job getting corporate travelers, and our location right off I-5 really draws people in.”
For the fourth year in a row, business has grown for the county’s hotels and motels, according to occupancy statistics from Smith Travel Research Inc.
Through the first 11 months of 2007, 73 percent of the county’s rooms were occupied on average, up more than 3 percent from the same period in 2006.
With the addition of December’s numbers, due out this week, Snohomish County is poised to finish near the top of the state in average occupancy. Through November, in fact, it was tied with King County, which usually leads the state in average occupancy.
For comparison, only 54 percent of rooms across Snohomish County were occupied in 2003. That improved to 60 percent occupancy in 2004. Both those years, however, the county trailed other parts of the state.
Amy Spain, executive director of the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, said the increased visitor stays have come from both business and leisure travelers.
“The corporate travel market continues to be really strong. A lot of that continues to be from Boeing and its suppliers here,” Spain said.
Additionally, numerous commercial development projects in the county have meant long-term stays by specialized construction crews. The Everett La Quinta, for example, has hosted workers who built a new Applebee’s near the Silver Firs area of southeast Everett, Ohm said.
A noticeable component of the leisure travelers continues to be Canadians, who visit Snohomish County primarily to shop at the Alderwood mall and Seattle Premium Outlets. With the Canadian and U.S. dollars on nearly equal footing, tourists from British Columbia find prices and selection at stores here even more desirable than before.
More good news for innkeepers: The average overnight rate for rooms has increased dramatically. Smith Travel Research’s figures show the average room rate as of November 2007 was $87.53, up 11 percent from the same month in 2006. In 2004, the average rate was just $65 a night.
But rooms here are still a deal compared to King County, where travelers can expect to pay an average of $124 a night.
The growth in visitor stays has not gone unnoticed. Several new hotels and motels are in the planning stages for Lynnwood and Everett. In Bothell, a proposed four-story, 128-room Hilton near the Canyon Park business campuses is under review by city planners.
The biggest new hotel on the horizon is slated to open by summer. The $130 million, 12-story Tulalip Resort Casino will have more than 350 rooms and a long list of luxury facilities.
“There’s a lot of excitement about that property,” Spain said. “It’s a very different kind of project than what we have in Snohomish County right now.”
Ohm agreed that the Tulalip resort is likely to appeal to travelers who haven’t paid much attention to Snohomish County before: those who expect four-star amenities at the places they stay.
An upswing in local tourism creates economic ripples far beyond local hotels. Visitor spending has increased by tens of millions of dollars in recent years, said David Radcliffe, president of The Radcliffe Co. in Spokane, which is helping the Washington Tourism Commission develop a long-range tourism plan.
After studying visitor spending statistics from the past seven years, Radcliffe said growth in spending by tourists across Washington has outpaced the national average since 2005. For example, direct spending by visitors grew 9 percent statewide during 2006, compared with 6 percent growth nationally.
Between 2000 and 2006, the state saw a 32 percent increase in direct spending by visitors.
Snohomish County saw even bigger growth — 43 percent, or $48 million — in that period, however. Spending by tourists grew faster in only two counties in Washington.
“It’s a real positive story for Snohomish County,” said Radcliffe. He said one of the factors helping the county is the growth of convention space. As hotel rooms and convention costs become more expensive in Seattle, more groups are looking north of the King County line for places to hold their events.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
