Report to Council: Hotel Bookings Begin to Rebound
After a pandemic freefall, hotel bookings in the northwest metro are finally starting to rebound. But according to local tourism officials, it may be another year before we see numbers back to where they were.
“I don’t believe the corporate travel, corporate events, corporate meetings are going away, they’re just a little slower to come back,” said Becky Bakken, president and CEO of Discover St. Louis Park.
Earlier this week, the Golden Valley City Council heard from the President and CEO of Discover St. Louis Park a marketing organization that represents St. Louis Park and Golden Valley.
The organization is funded through a 3% lodging tax in the two cities.
A slide from the Discover St. Louis Park presentation shows the economic impact of tourism to St. Louis Park and Golden Valley.
Last year, the tax raised $1,115,862, which is significantly more than the $357,589 collected in 2020. Still, it will take longer before corporate travel fully returns.
“I believe we’re going to get back,” Bakken said. “Minneapolis is too big and honestly too great to not. So I think that it may take us to 2024, and if I’m honest that’s what the experts were saying all along.”
Bakken says tourism brought $149 million in visitor spending to Golden Valley and St. Louis Park in 2022.
Meanwhile, there’s an effort underway to possibly rename ‘Discover St. Louis Park’ to something that better reflects the two cities it serves.
Related: Golden Valley Hotels Hit Hard by COVID-19
