Home Ideas COVID-19 VISIT Milwaukee: Canceled events amount to $47 million in lost economic impact

VISIT Milwaukee: Canceled events amount to $47 million in lost economic impact

Peggy Williams-Smith details 'devastating' impact on hotels

By

Lauren Anderson

-

Apr 16, 2020 11:54 am

Peggy Williams-Smith

Coronavirus-related cancellations of events booked by VISIT Milwaukee have resulted in an estimated $47 million in lost economic impact for the region, president and chief executive officer Peggy Williams-Smith said Wednesday. Williams-Smith provided an update during the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s daily briefing on COVID-19. As of April 12, 34 events booked by the

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Coronavirus-related cancellations of events booked by VISIT Milwaukee have resulted in an estimated $47 million in lost economic impact for the region, president and chief executive officer Peggy Williams-Smith said Wednesday. Williams-Smith provided an update during the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s daily briefing on COVID-19. As of April 12, 34 events booked by the organization, which were set to take place at the Wisconsin Center and partnering Milwaukee-area hotels, had been canceled. Sixteen events have been postponed to to-be-determined future dates. Those cancellations have resulted in an estimated loss of 61,642 room nights in Milwaukee-area hotels, for an estimated $7 million loss in hard spending for the industry. Among area hotels, 16 have temporarily suspended operations, including Saint Kate Arts Hotel, Hilton Milwaukee City Center and the Pfister Hotel. Occupancy in Milwaukee hotels was down 69% (from 75% in 2019 to 23% this year), according to the most recent 28-day STR report, which Williams-Smith called “devastating.” Revenue was down 74% year-over-year, from $14.2 million to $3.8 million, according to the same report. According to the U.S. Travel Association, Wisconsin saw a loss of $631 million from March 9 to April 4 for travel spending. While the city’s events and tourism sectors have been hard hit, Williams-Smith said the region should benefit from several major events that remain on the books this summer, including the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2020 Meeting (Aug. 2-6), Northwestern Mutual’s annual meeting (Aug. 10-12), the Democratic National Convention (Aug. 17-20) and the Ryder Cup (Sept. 22-27). VISIT is now working on a “Bring it Home” campaign to urge area business leaders to host their meetings and conventions in the region. “When you host your meetings here in Milwaukee, you're going to bring visitors and revenue into this city and now more than ever will be the time to showcase Milwaukee as a business destination,” Williams-Smith said. Several festivals also remain scheduled to happen, including State Fair (Aug. 6-16), Milwaukee Irish Fest (Aug. 13-16), Mexican Fiesta (Aug. 21-23) and Summerfest, which has been postponed to the first three weekends of September. “(The events) can help us promote what we think will come back first, which is leisure travel,” Williams-Smith said. Get more news and insights in the March 30 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee: