The Greater Philadelphia hospitality industry experienced another strong year in 2007, maintaining strong occupancy while rates continued to increase. Here are some highlights from the regional and Center City markets:

Regional:

• Individual leisure travelers filled 32% of regional hotel rooms, accounting for 2,566,000 occupied room nights.
• Regional hotel revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time ever. 
• Regional hotel occupancy went down slightly, from 70.4% in 2006 to 69.8% in 2007.
• Average daily rates in the region, however, were up from $121.27 in 2006 to $129.61 in 2007, accounting for the rise in overall hotel revenue. 

Center City:

• Individual and group leisure travelers occupied 35.5% of Center City hotel rooms.
• Saturday night hotel occupancy was again the highest of the week at 80.9%, with Wednesday the next most popular night of the week for hotels (78.1%). 
• Center City hotel occupancy was essentially flat in 2007 at 73.6% (73.3% in 2006).
• Average daily rates in Center City were up substantially in 2007 at $167.56, up from $156.15 in 2006. 

For the latest stats, facts and figures, visit gophila.com/research.

Source: Smith Travel Research, PKF Consulting

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GPTMC scored big with a March 17 cover story about its uwishunu® campaign in PRWeek, a national trade publication reporting on news, trends and research in the PR industry that is distributed to 10,000 PR professionals. The article applauded GPTMC's "plunge into Web 2.0 to promote the city" and showed how other destinations are starting to employ social media tactics in their own marketing efforts.

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On February 14, GPTMC and KYW Newsradio launched HearPhilly!, an Internet radio station devoted to sounding off on all of the great things to do in Philly. The online broadcast station, accessible exclusively on gophila.com and kyw1060.com, takes listeners on an audio odyssey throughout the Philadelphia region, with reports on events, exhibitions, attractions, restaurants, shops, performing arts and more. The Hear Philly! listening portal also contains quick links to news, tourism information and weather forecasts, allowing audiophiles to plan their trip as they hear about what to see and do in the Philadelphia region. To advertise, contact Lisa Kruse at (215) 860-3090 or lisa@angelmarkassociates.com. To listen, visit gophila.com or kyw1060.com.

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National Tourism Week, May 10-18, 2008, is fast approaching. GPTMC is eager to report on the state of the industry and release our annual report on May 15. We invite you to be a tourist in your own town, so plan to be at Franklin Square from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for food, fun and games in honor of National Tourism Week . More details to come.

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During Black History Month, GPTMC partnered with American Legacy, the nation's premier magazine about African-American history and culture, to raise the city’s national profile as a place where visitors can connect with their history, culture and much more. As the only featured destination on the magazine’s “Know Your History” mobile tour, Philadelphia gained exposure in 15 U.S. cities, where approximately 32,000 potential visitors received information inviting them to Philly to take part in some of the city’s most unique offerings.

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What do Darth Vader, Frida Kahlo and Dogfish Head beer have in common? They were elements of three group press trips GPTMC hosted this quarter. The trip themes were determined by major happenings in town this winter, including Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination at The Franklin Institute, Frida Kahlo at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the first Philly Beer Week celebration. The 24 media guests in attendance toured the city and met some key people who could help them tell their Philadelphia stories, such as mural artist Meg Saligman, local beer expert and author Don Russell and Star Wars stormtrooper Tim Quirino.

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Philly locals are the centerpiece of new creative developed for the Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay® tourism marketing campaign, giving it a next-generation appeal. GPTMC and Southwest Airlines debuted “We Your People” in national advertising placements and in a five-city promotional push beginning March 14, 2008. The groundbreaking gay tourism campaign originally launched in 2003 with the iconic images of Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross.

The first “We Your People” ad features local entrepreneur Matthew Izzo, owner of Matthew Izzo Boutiques. He will be joined by more than a dozen other Philadelphia-area residents who have helped to make the region a premier gay travel destination. Participants will be featured in online and print advertising. gophila.com/gay

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2008 started out strong for Philadelphia with lots of accolades coming in for the region’s restaurants, hotels, historic sites and more. Here’s a look:

• Every year, AAA evaluates more than 60,000 lodging establishments and restaurants and rates them on a scale of one to five diamonds. Philadelphia’s Five Diamond Award winners are the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia (24th year on the list), The Rittenhouse Hotel and Condominium Residences (17th year) and The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia (8th year), as well as Fountain Restaurant (14th year) and Le Bec-Fin (20th year).
• The Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia was recognized as one of Radisson Hotels & Resorts' top-performing hotels. The hotel received the Radisson’s prestigious President’s Award, based on its exceptional commitment to guest service and product quality in 2007.
• Nearly 60,000 people responded to Travel + Leisure and CNN Headline News’ 2007 “America’s Favorite Cities” poll. Philadelphia ranked second for historical sites and monuments; third for cheap eats, farmers’ markets, pizza and sports fan’s vacation; fourth for culture, museums and galleries and antiques; and fifth for classical music and food and dining. To vote for Philadelphia in the 2008 poll, visit travelandleisure.com/afc.
• forbestraveler.com named Tacconelli’s Pizzeria as one “America’s Best Pizzerias.” The Port Richmond restaurant joined great pizza spots from Berkeley to the Bronx on the March 5, 2008 list. Philly locals rave about the neighborhood BYOB spot on GPTMC’s soundaboutphilly.com and uwishunu.com.

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• “With the city awash in rumors that paint Philly as the new Williamsburg [Brooklyn], a veritable hipster promised land, it’s hard not to wonder what the real deal is behind the mass exodus from the City That Never Sleeps to the City of Brotherly Love.” – gridskipper.com (ranked 1,531 out of a possible 70 million blogs), February 18, 2008
• “Thanks to a recovering waterfront and spillover from gentrifying neighborhoods like Northern Liberties, Fishtown is joining the ranks of warehouse districts nationwide that have undergone a renaissance. Young professionals and creative types are moving into renovated apartments and luxury condos. Upscale restaurants, galleries and high-end shops have followed.” – The New York Times (1,500,394 circulation), January 13, 2008
• “Visit Florida has unleashed a revamped website, gunning for the same kind of smashing success Philadelphia has racked up with its Web 2.0 initiative, uwishunu.” – jaunted.com travel blog (ranked 4,404 out of a possible 70 million blogs), January 4, 2008
• “The stressed go west. But these days, instead of moving all the way to California, burned out East Coast urbanites only have to go as far as Philadelphia (pop. 1.4 million) for a cheaper, greener reprieve. Just a two-hour train ride from New York and D.C., Philly has been drawing expat Brooklyn hipsters and Wall Street brokers, inspiring a new nickname the locals love to hate: New York sixth borough.” – National Geographic Adventure (600,000 circulation), April 2008
• “What makes Philly so attractive? The Rocky statue atop the art museum steps? That’s been moved. No: It likely comes down to real estate. Although exact numbers are difficult to find, Philadelphia home prices, generally, are absurdly low compared to almost any area in New York….Philadelphia’s geography—it’s the closest major city to New York, a couple hours away as the crow flies—placed it in a unique position to capitalize on the convergence of this urban-living popularity and the increasing difficulty of such living in New York City.” – The New York Observer (50,415 circulation), February 12, 2008
• "Once the colonial home of carpet mills, breweries, cigar factories and ladies of the night, Northern Liberties is the latest Philadelphia neighbourhood to enjoy an overdue hit of urban renewal, with an influx of local designers, hip eateries and art co-ops. And not a Starbucks in sight.” – Wallpaper* (110,000 circulation), April 2008
• “…Philadelphia definitely deserves to be mentioned with cities such as Portland, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle…Their beer culture ranks up with the best and is worthy of your beer travel dollar. I really have to give credit to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation for seeing that there is a whole community of beer travelers they could tap into. Many cities take us for granted and Philadelphia should be commended. To make your Philly plans go to gophila.com.” – thebeergeek.com, March 10, 2008
• “The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., the nonprofit that advertises to the so-called leisure traveler, will make use of more video posted online to attract a younger and more technologically savvy visitor. The campaign, uwishunu (pronounced “you wish you knew”), is designed to boost stays at Philadelphia hotels, as well as restaurants, museums and other attractions.” – Philadelphia Business Journal (11,361 circulation), January 25, 2008

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