|
Congratulations on Your Retirement, Diane!
By now you have probably heard that Grand Junction's Chamber of Commerce CEO, Diane Schwenke, is retiring. Diane, we commend you for your vision, hard work, and commitment as a leader in this community. Your dedication and service has successfully propelled the Chamber toward countless significant accomplishments over the last 33 years, which has helped elevate Grand Junction in a positive and impactful way. Thank you for your unwavering leadership, you will be missed. |
|
|
Did you miss the three episodes that Visit Grand Junction created for Outside TV? You can check out all three adventures here. Visit GJ also highlighted locals in the six commercials which aired during all three Outside TV episodes - feel free to check them out here as well! They are numbered #1 - #6. Since November 2022, the Grand Junction episodes have garnered over 37M views!
|
|
Are you losing track of Visit Grand Junction's opportunities, marketing support, and partnerships that are available to you? Check out the
VisitGrandJunction.com partnership page. This will help you navigate the FREE resources that Visit Grand Junction offers, including an opportunity to request additional assistance you are seeking. We add to this list on a monthly basis, so reference this page regularly. Not sure where to start? Contact Elizabeth for assistance: ElizabethF@GJcity.org.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Director of Visit Grand Junction
|
|
Lodging Tax Revenue Report
|
|
|
January 2021
From the 4.25% lodging tax collections that Visit GJ received (short-term rental lodging tax revenue is collected quarterly), January 2022’s business was a factor of 44.2% higher compared to January 2021 (adjusted for late and missing payments). For a more accurate comparison, January 2022's business was 14.5% higher than January 2020's business (pre-pandemic). Of the Grand Junction lodging properties that reported their metrics to STR, LLC*, occupancy for January 2022 was 44.0%, ADR was $81.55, and RevPAR was $35.85. All three metrics were the highest for any month of January in Grand Junction's lodging history!
As expected, Grand Junction experienced a decrease in all hotel metrics compared to the previous holiday month of December. January 2022’s business experienced a factor of a 12.9% decrease in occupancy, a 5.2% decrease in ADR, and a 17.5% decrease in RevPAR compared to December 2021.
|
|
|
For national metrics, Grand Junction was 7.9% lower than U.S. hotels in average occupancy, 34.0% lower in ADR, and 39.2% lower in RevPAR for January 2022.
|
|
|
Compared to the state, Grand Junction was 13.4% lower than Colorado hotels in average occupancy, 51.5% lower in ADR, and 58.0% lower in RevPAR for January 2022. The high percentage of difference is affected by ski resorts that significantly weigh the entire state's (and U.S.) occupancy and ADR for January through March.
|
|
|
According to Visit Grand Junction's Tableau-based data platform, room night bookings for April look positive across all booking segments, resulting in an estimated 18% increase in occupancy above April 2021. Given the current trend of record hotel metrics each month since March of last year, April 2022 will undoubtedly end with another record month as well.
|
|
|
Although rising gas prices are a current concern for travelers, a third of them say they are choosing destinations closer to home, according to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers. In contrast, only 21% of travelers say COVID-19 will greatly impact their travel in the next six months, near the lowest level since the pandemic began two years ago. Thus, Americans' desire to travel remains high, and Grand Junction's hotel metrics demonstrate that people are traveling here.
Keep up the great work with your yield management strategy! If you would like further assistance and ideas with yielding rates, contact Elizabeth at ElizabethF@GJCity.org.
Click here for the latest sales, use, and lodging tax collection reports from the City of Grand Junction.
*Source: STR, LLC. - REPUBLICATION OR OTHER RE-USE OF STR’s DATA WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF STR IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
|
|
|
Welcome to spring! Grand Junction's event season is in full bloom with concerts starting earlier than ever before. Visit Grand Junction recently hosted an Event Task Force Meeting attended by over 30 people. If you are involved with events, in any capacity in the Grand Junction area (Palisade, Fruita, and Grand Junction), and would like to join next month's meeting, please reach out to Mason at MasonB@GJcity.org. There are new regulations and permit requirements in effect, including International Fire Code (IFC) requirements. Attending the Event Task Force Meetings helps you stay informed and provides you with resources to assist in running a safe and well-attended event. Please join us!
|
|
Visit Grand Junction has been investing in a visual content marketing platform, for the last several years, which utilizes user-generated content (UGC) to highlight the destination through resident and consumer images that they agree to share.
We hear you - you do not have time to keep us updated, and we agree! There is now a new feature that provides you direct value as a tourism business. You can connect your social posts with Visit Grand Junction so your updates, promotions, and offerings communicate with us automatically. This will keep Visit GJ updated without you having to take the extra step of contacting us separately. Visit GJ will utilize this information to create content through our marketing channels - highlighting you via our blogs, website content, PR pitches, and social posts, at no cost to you. We will continue to reach out directly to ask for image rights before sharing photos you post.
Here's an example: Highlands Distillery posted about their new, cool yurt. If Highlands is connected with Visit GJ from the below link, we will receive their social posting through our UGC portal. We can then review their content and apply it to our marketing channels. It saves them time and provides them additional visibility via our destination marketing initiatives.
|
|
Love'n GJ on Social Media
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ellie said,
"Love this monument!!"
|
|
|
|
|
Chris said, "Planning to make this drive in a few months"
|
|
|
|
|
@clavelinc wrote, "Colorado's best kept secret. I love this town."
|
|
|
|
|
|
