Tag Archives: visit kitsap peninsula

Kitsap hotels doing brisk business this spring

casinoresortopen03_18446453_ver1.0_640_4802015 was a very good year for Kitsap County hoteliers. 2016 is looking even better.

Kitsap posted the largest percentage increase in lodging revenues among major Washington counties this spring, according to a market survey by Smith Travel Reports made available by Visit Kitsap Peninsula.

Revenue was up nearly 30 percent, a change of about $2 million, January through April this year, compared with the first four months of 2015. Demand for lodging (the total number of room sold) was up 18 percent.

casinoresortopen02_18446452_ver1.0_640_480Visit Kitsap Executive Director Patty Graf-Hoke said the jump in revenue was partially driven by hotels raising room rates.

Hotels charged an average daily rate of $93 in April, up from $84 in April 2015.

Federal employees and contractors fill many Kitsap hotel rooms, particularly in the Bremerton area. The federal per-diem for lodging is currently $89.

But Graf-Hoke said hotels have enjoyed a recent influx of tourists, as well as construction workers employed at large developments in the county.

“The hoteliers are having the ability to charge higher room rates because of an increase in leisure travel,” Graf-Hoke said.

Kitsap hotels enjoying spike in demand

PoulsboInn_22326865_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap County’s lodging industry has enjoyed double-digit increases in demand and revenue this year, according to a report from an industry analyst.

Through August, demand for hotel rooms was up 14.3 percent from 2014 while revenue increased by 17.5 percent.

Kitsap posted the highest growth in hotel demand of any county in Washington, according to the report from Smith Travel Research, Inc., and summarized in a Visit Kitsap Peninsula news release.

CasinoResortOpen03_18446453_ver1.0_640_480Visit Kitsap Executive Director Patty Graf-Hoke attributed the spike in hotel demand to marketing efforts aimed at attracting more tourists and reducing the county’s dependence on government-related travel.

“We have positioned ourselves in the sweet spot between the Olympic Peninsula and the bright lights of the city,” Graf-Hoke said in the release.

Regional ad campaigns have highlighted Kitsap’s natural setting and recreational opportunities, including its nationally-designated water trails system.

“We have strengthened our message,” County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido said in the release “… I really look at it as us capitalizing on who we are and where we are.”

My compatriot Tim Kelly with Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal recently took a closer look at how hotels are benefiting from the county’s tourist boom. You can read his June story here.