Feb. 27–EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J — More scores from the Super Bowl early this month have just come in, and hotels in the vicinity of the stadium in North Jersey’s Meadowlands are declaring themselves winners.
Overall, according to a trade survey, the area’s hotels reported increases in occupancy (more than 70 percent), average daily rates (nearly 130 percent), and average revenue per available room (over 289 percent) compared with how they performed during the same weekend — Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 — one year ago, according to Smith Travel Research, which tracks the national hotel industry.
Their occupancy rate for Super Bowl weekend also jumped — from 36 percent to more than 61 percent.
The North Jersey hotels saw bigger percentage gains in each of these categories than their pricier Manhattan counterparts, according to the report, authored by Carter Wilson, director of analytics for Smith. They lagged in one respect: “New York City hotels still had much higher rates and overall higher revenue,” Wilson said Wednesday.
The key difference, he said, was that unlike Manhattan venues, hotels in East Rutherford and Bergen County typically have little business in February, so relatively speaking, the impact of the Super Bowl was greatest there.
“Manhattan hotels have been running strong year-round, so incremental gains are more difficult to come by,” Carter said.
Manhattan hotels had higher revenue per available room from Super Bowl weekend — $302.96 in Times Square and $286.39 in Uptown/Midtown East, vs. $152.34 in Bergen County/East Rutherford.
The average daily rate at Manhattan hotels was $382.66 in Uptown/Midtown East and $379.84 at Times Square, vs. $248.85 in Bergen County/East Rutherford.
The numbers may encourage tourism officials in Philadelphia, who said last month the city and suburbs have enough hotel rooms to accommodate a Super Bowl if the Eagles make a successful bid for the game.
It was expected that hotels near MetLife Stadium on the New Jersey side — including the Hilton-Meadowlands and the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel, on Routes 3 and 17 — would see increases as game-goers tried to be as close to the venue as possible. Manhattan is eight miles from the stadium.
The Meadowlands Regional Chamber released its own numbers Monday showing that additional revenue generated from 5,796 rooms at member hotels over Super Bowl week, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, was just over $3 million.
Of that, $453,645 was local tax revenue, and $362,916 in state tax revenue from an 8 percent occupancy tax. Total revenue from all Meadowlands rooms was $4.4 million.
The hotel numbers are significant because competition for tourism dollars between the two host states was fierce.
sparmley@phillynews.com
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