Hotel occupancy in Baton Rouge increased nearly 7% in 2014 over the previous year, thanks to several major events held here last summer. Total room nights for the year topped 104,000, while some 337 conventions and groups held meetings in Baton Rouge, according to the Annual Report released today by Visit Baton Rouge.
While the numbers were an improvement over those of 2013, they were not as strong as those of 2012—a banner year in which a steady stream of bowlers participating in the months-long U.S Bowling Congress Open Championships filled local hotel rooms.
In 2014, the events that helped bring tourism and visitors to the Capital Region included Bayou Country Superfest—which was expanded from two to three days—the Miss USA pageant and the 2014 U.S. Youth Soccer Region III Championship tournament. All three events helped filled hotel rooms during the otherwise sleepy summer months, pushing average occupancy rates up 6.9% to nearly 70%, increasing average daily room rates by 1.4% to $85 per night and generating more than $4.5 million in hotel tax revenues.
“Last year will go down as one of the best for Baton Rouge tourism,” Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Paul Arrigo says.
Other interesting factoids in the Annual Report: Baton Rouge hosted 57 sports events last year with more than 278,600 attendees, and 26 film and TV productions, which resulted in $180 million in direct spending.
—Stephanie Riegel
