Signs of positive recovery for Minneapolis tourism continue as a recent summer week recorded the highest weekly demand for hotel rooms in Minneapolis since fall 2019.
Downtown Minneapolis events push summer hotel bookings near autumn 2019 levels
Taylor Swift concerts and the Twin Cities Pride festival were among the events that drew visitors downtown as hotel revenue climbed in the summer.
September 19, 2023 at 5:20PM
![Fans wait for doors to open for the first of two Taylor Swift concerts during the Eras Tour outside U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, June 23, 2023. ] SHARI L. GROSS • shari.gross@startribune.com ORG XMIT: MIN2306231759400262](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/6LKSEOYWMGH3FYHJGWLF5RCRZA.jpg?&w=712)
There were more than 56,000 occupied hotel rooms from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2 thanks to events throughout the region, including the 2023 Gay Softball World Series, Meet Minneapolis reported Tuesday. That week capped a summer of significantly improved overall performance for Minneapolis hotels, even as business travel continues to be sluggish and particularly impact downtown.
Demand for hotel rooms in Minneapolis increased nearly 11% from Memorial Day to Labor Day versus a year earlier. On June 23-24 — with Taylor Swift concerts, the Twin Cities Pride festival and the Kiwanis International Convention all taking place in the city — Minneapolis set a new record for total rooms occupied on a weekend with 19,531.
"All of that activity provides a significant boost to the Minneapolis economy and supports the nearly 30,000 tourism and hospitality workers in the city," Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant said in a news release.
According to Meet Minneapolis' Smith Travel Research data, Minneapolis hotels saw:
- An August hotel occupancy rate of 66%, the highest since October 2019 at 75%.
- The top weekly hotel occupancy rate for the year at 78% from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, the highest since Oct. 20-27, 2019, at 81%. This was even with more hotels open than in the past.
- Total guest revenue rise more than 10% from summer 2022 to $107 million.
Meet Minneapolis is launching a fall tourism campaign targeting communities that are 15 to 300 miles away.
"Visitors from near and far came to our city for a wide variety of events, and the hospitality community really came together to showcase Minneapolis," said Meet Minneapolis board member Christy Loy, general manager of Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District, in a release. "We're excited to carry this momentum forward in the seasons ahead."
Health officials say the recent outbreak of the highly contagious virus looked bad this summer, but optimism is growing they may have contained it.
