East Idaho hotels see record occupancy rates in July
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are seeing record numbers of guests this year.
And because of that, hotels in Idaho Falls and the surrounding areas are seeing the same thing.
Numbers from the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce show July was the busiest month on record for hotel occupancy.
President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Chip Schwarze broke down the numbers for Bonneville County for July going back five years.
"In 2016 we were at $6.6 million in revenue, just in July 2017 it grew to $6.7, and then $7.7 for 2018," Schwarze said. "And in 2020 during the pandemic, it dropped dramatically, from $7.4 in 2019 to $4.3. But this year we've bounced, and in July we had revenue of $9.1 million in hotel collections."
Schwarze calls it a sign of a recovering and growing hotel and tourism industry.
"One, their occupancy rates are back up where they like to see them in the summer months," Schwarze said. "But two, because of pressure on the supply side, there's only a finite amount of rooms, and there's a lot of people that want one, the prices have been up this year. So the hotels are recovering nicely.
Megan Tavenner, the sales and marketing director for Inntrusted, the company that owns and operates seven hotels in the Idaho Falls area including Holiday Inn and Suites, Fairfield, and Candlewood, says their numbers have gone up.
"Everything has dramatically increased obviously over 2020 numbers, we were at an all-time low then," Tavenner said. "But also in comparison to 2019 numbers, when were pricing out and looking at our reports, we really look at 2019 versus 2021. And this summer, we're pacing as a whole across the seven hotels in the area, about 10 to 15 percent better than we were in '19."
Schwarze said it's no surprise what's bringing in visitors.
"Obviously, Yellowstone accounts for north of two million travelers a year coming through our town," Schwarze said. "But our region has so much more to offer. Within a 30 minute drive of here, you can be on world-class fly fishing, we've got great hunting. So the outdoors and the outfitters do a great job for us. Just hikers, anybody that wants to camp or experience the outdoors, there's so much to do here."
Even just in Idaho Falls.
"We've also got things like the Museum of Idaho, which is the largest museum in the state of Idaho," Schwarze said. "It has exhibits in there that you don't see in cities of this size, so that's a huge attraction. We've got the 'Best Little Zoo in the West, we've got a greenbelt that's been an award-winning greenbelt."
Schwarze also said they don't expect the trend to slow down, especially with the new Mountain America Center opening next fall.
