July 25, 2022
DowntownFTL has experienced a surge of interest by tourists. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, DowntownFTL's visitation from out-of-town tourists has increased by 35% per quarter on average.
Quick Return To Pre-Pandemic Levels
Prior to the pandemic, hotels within the 33301 zip code averaged about 40K visits per quarter according to Placer.ai. By the end of 2020, visits to DowntownFTL hotels returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is largely driven by the rise of DowntownFTL hotel rooms made possible by the opening of the Hyatt Centric Las Olas in April 2020 and the opening of The Dalmar in 2019.
Unprecedented Momentum
The DowntownFTL hotel market has unprecedented momentum. By the first quarter of 2021, visits to DowntownFTL hotels were up 80% over pre-pandemic levels. From Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, hotel visits increased by an additional 19%. The weakest quarter over the past year (Q4 2021) performs at a rate 69% better than in 2019.
Top Performing Months
Within the past year, the most in-demand month for DowntownFTL was March, tied to spring break. Visits during the month of March were 45% higher than July, which ranked as the next most popular month to visit.
Notably, the average number of monthly hotel visits is about 25K, which is line with foot traffic during the beginning of the holiday season in November and December.
Cover Photo Credit: Live Lux Travel Co