Copyright M Live Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Hotels in Kent County had a banner year in 2024, with record bookings pushing room revenue to an all-time high of $274.1 million. The accomplishment, driven by strong sales among leisure and group travelers, signaled that the “toll the pandemic took on the visitor economy is squarely in the rearview mirror,” said Doug Small, president and CEO of Experience Grand Rapids. Not all hotels are feeling the benefit, though. At least 22 hotels opened in Kent County between 2019 and 2024, data show. With more competition, many hotels in operation before the flood of new properties opened have seen room revenue fall since 2019, an MLive analysis of hotel room revenue data shows. Changes in ownership and room renovations also affected the numbers at some hotels. “We just keep adding hotels,” said Ed Wilson, general manager of the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson Grand Rapids East. “If you have record growth, it’s just spreading out that pie. It isn’t necessarily making the pie taller or bigger.” Wilson’s hotel, which opened in 2007, has held its own by generating $4.4 million in room revenue in 2024, up 1% from 2019. Others, however, didn’t fare as well. Fifty-eight of the 68 hotels that were open prior to 2019, when the new properties started to come online, generated less revenue in 2024 than 2019, data show. Decreases occurred throughout the county, ranging from a $1.4 million drop at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown to a $2.2 million decline at the DoubleTree by Hilton near the airport. Airbnb has also added to the competition. The short-term rental service’s revenue grew to $11.9 million in 2024, up 139% from five years prior, data show. Collectively, the service now generates the third most room revenue in Kent County, behind the Amway Grand Plaza and JW Marriott. “I definitely think it’s affected the weekend business,” Lisa Calhoun, director of sales and marketing at the Sheraton Grand Rapids Airport, said of Airbnb. “I think it’s affected family travel, and I think more people are looking at that as an option.” MLive’s analysis included hotels with 40 or more rooms, and excluded smaller motels, bed and breakfasts and other properties. The data analyzed was obtained from the Kent County Treasurer’s office, which tracks room revenue data for tax purposes. When including the 22 new hotels, there are now at least 90 hotels with 40 or more rooms in Kent County, up from 68 in 2019, data show. While the wave of new properties has hurt occupancy rates, the fact that countywide room revenue and room sales hit a record in 2024 shows the market is doing well, said Small, the president and CEO of Experience Grand Rapids. “We want to grow occupancy for our hotels,” he said. “At the same time, we want to see revenue grow. So whatever the occupancy rate is, if revenue is growing that means we’re putting the right kind of business into our hotels.” Kent County’s hotel occupancy rate was 59% in 2024, down from 64% in 2019, according to Experience Grand Rapids. Downtown Grand Rapids has fared better. Its occupancy rate, 64%, fell just one percentage point over that period. Revenue drops at hotels between 2019 to 2024 occurred for a variety of reasons, from slow business to room renovations to changes in ownership. The biggest drop came at the Sonesta Hotel Grand Rapids Airport, 3333 28th St. SE. Its revenue fell from $3.6 million in 2019 to $713,122 in 2024, Kent County data show. The hotel announced on May 1, 2024, that it had been rebranded from a Delta by Marriott to the Sonesta. It did not report any room revenue between June and December 2024. The company’s corporate office could not be reached for comment. There were two fatal shootings reported at the hotel in 2023, before it reopened as the Sonesta Hotel Grand Rapids Airport in 2024, news reports show. The Double Tree by Hilton, 4747 28th St. SE, had the second biggest drop. Its revenue fell to $4.4 million in 2024, down 33% from 2019, data show. The hotel’s general manager, Joseph Fragala, declined an interview request. At AHC Hospitality, one of the largest hotel owners and operators in Kent County, the data showed mixed results. The company’s largest hotel, the Amway Grand Plaza, saw the biggest revenue growth countywide, rising to $29.6 million in 2024, up 15%, data show. However, the JW Marriott’s revenue was down 8.3% and the Courtyard by Marriott was down 13%. “There’s just more competition,” Rick Winn, president of AHC Hospitality, said when asked about the declines at JW Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott. “So we’re sharing guests in some respects.” The 337-room JW Marriott began major room renovations in early 2024, and Winn noted that the upgrades “definitely” had an impact on that year’s room revenue. The hotel’s 2023 room revenue, before the renovations, was 5% lower than in 2019, data show. Winn attributed the revenue growth at the Amway Grand to increased room rates, which are adjusted to meet inflation, and strong group business. The 682-room hotel specializes in serving conventions, meetings and other group events. Last year, Experience Grand Rapids said hotel rooms sold to groups of visitors attending conferences, meetings, and youth and amateur sports events reached a record high of 162,509, up 6.9% over 2023. “Group business did come back after Covid,” Winn said. Companywide, AHC Hospitality’s revenue was higher in 2024 than 2019, he said. AHC opened the AC Hotel Grand Rapids Downtown in May 2019, and it also manages the downtown Hyatt Place, which opened in August 2019. The company also manages Hotel Rose in Rockford, which opened in September, as well as Ada Hotel, which opened last year. It also manages several out of state properties. “We’ve gained revenue,” Winn said. Hotels, like any business, must invest in their service and property to stand out when competition heats up, said Wilson, the general manager of Country Inn & Suites Grand Rapids East, which opened in 2007. “We’ve done very well for a number of years,” he said. “We’ve got a great product, great hotel and good staff. Our service scores are phenomenal. But we have new competition up the road from us. So that does take some out of your part of the pie.” One longtime hotel, the Sheraton Grand Rapids Airport, has seen its revenue grow because of a $20 million renovation and rebranding in 2023, said Calhoun, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. The hotel, which opened in 1980, operated independently for a time under the name Plaza Grand Rapids. However, it was rebranded to the Sheraton, part of Marriott, in 2023 in conjunction with the renovations. Since then, its room revenue has grown, reaching $5 million in 2024, up 25% from 2019, data show. That was the second biggest increase behind the Amway Grand Plaza, data show. “Marriott overall is just a stronger brand for both corporate travel and group travel,” Calhoun said. “They just have a better national sales presence. It has a better name brand and loyalty program connected to it. So it was a good choice.” Several of the roughly 22 new hotels that opened in Kent County between 2019 and 2024 are now among the area’s biggest revenue generators. The Embassy Suites by Hilton, which opened in April 2019 at 710 Monroe Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids, brought in $11.8 million in room revenue in 2024, data show. Not counting Airbnb’s, that was the third most revenue countywide. The 13-story Residence Inn, which opened in 2021 at 40 Louis St. NW in downtown Grand Rapids, generated $7.6 million last year, the fifth most revenue countywide, data show. It was followed by the downtown Canopy by Hilton, which opened in September 2020. The high-end, boutique hotel at 131 Ionia Ave. SW brought in $7.1 million in room revenue last year, data show. Carol Cain, vice president of sales and commercial strategy at Lodgco Hospitality, which owns the Canopy by Hilton, said even though occupancy rates have flattened in Grand Rapids, demand “has really remained strong.” “Grand Rapids definitely has seen new hotel supply come online, which just really always creates a more competitive market,” she said. “It pushes us all to elevate our service, amenities and guest experience.” Lodgco, which is based in Grand Rapids, owns and operates 17 hotels in Michigan, Florida and Colorado, three of which are in Kent County. Two of those, the Canopy by Hilton and a 100-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Walker, opened after 2019. The company’s third hotel, the Hampton Inn and Suites, located near Michigan Street NE in the Medical Mile, opened in 2016. Between 2019 and 2024, its revenue fell to $4.4 million, down 19%, data show. Despite the drop, Lodgco has generated record profits on average between its three hotels, Cain said. Looking forward, she said she’s optimistic about the hotel market in Grand Rapids, in part because of new attractions such as Acrisure Amphitheater. The 12,000-capacity venue at 201 Market Ave. SW is set to open in 2026 and draw visitors to the city. “I think the new amphitheater is really going to drive additional traffic to the downtown market,” Cain said. “We’re looking forward to it. We think we’re going to see strong growth in both group, business travel, and leisure demand over the next few years.”
