NEWS

“So this is great news for all of you who live it every day,” the mayor said from a podium in the recently renovated meeting room of the Holiday Inn Express. A $4 million renovation of the hotel that included every room was completed in May. Warwick promotional brochures were spread out on tables, a “Stay in Warwick, See Rhode Island” poster promoted the city’s campaign, and flutes filled with champagne were being served from a silver tray. “This is the best I’ve ever seen our hotels,” said Karen Jedson, Warwick’s director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Development. The mayor provided a breakdown showing occupancy was up 2.4 percent for June, 7.5 percent in July, and 10 percent for August. Revenue was up 7.1 percent, 12.6 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. According to the release, the daily average room rate was $100.73 this summer, up 5.74 percent from 2014’s daily rate of $95.25. The mayor made special note of data showing 52 percent of hotel occupants are from nearby Connecticut and Massachusetts, a vindication of the city’s marketing campaign under the direction of Jedson. The $25,000 campaign of television and Internet advertisements had been criticized as “crazy” because people wouldn’t come that short a distance to stay in Warwick. But that’s just what people in the business know about the city’s hotels. Lynne Oscarson, general manager of the Crowne and the Holiday Express, said that travelers have found that it is not only less costly but convenient to stay in Warwick than in Newport or Boston. The hotels have also cultivated events such as the dog shows at the Crowne, which not only fill Crowne rooms but spill over to other city hotels. Car shows are also gaining popularity, and there is a steady stream of sporting events that bring in players and their families from across the region. Jedson said yesterday she is working on campaigns for the off-season months of December and January. “I’m not going to leave any rock uncovered,” she said. The backbone of the hotels, which is also an indicator that the economy is on the upswing, is the business community, says Kelly Coates, senior vice president of development and commercial leasing for Carpionato Properties. With such high occupancy rates, might more hotels be in Warwick’s future? Coates pointed out that Carpionato has approval to build an additional 200 rooms at the Crowne. He offered no timetable for such a project if it were to be built at all. “These are business hotels; it’s the Citizens and the GTECHs,” he said. Both Coates and Oscarson see Green Airport as an important link to the business, although airport traffic has been static and even down. Oscarson is hopeful a longer runway that will be completed in late 2017 will mean more flights and improved non-stop connections. Coates says Green needs improved service to popular destinations. Avedisian pointed to the seasonal service to Frankfurt, Germany, initiated by Condor Airlines, as a boost for Warwick hotels. He sees the traveler from Europe using Warwick as “a base of operation” while visiting the region. And that does well for the city. Avedisian said that every hotel room occupied in the city results in $400 in “spin off” to the local economy. Based on 98-percent occupancy, that means Warwick’s 2,237 hotel rooms were “spinning off” $877,200 into the local economy every Friday and Saturday in August.

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