Hospitality overview

Having two teenagers who play travel sports, I realize firsthand how tournaments help drive the hospitality industry. When my kids' baseball and softball teams travel, parents and players are staying at hotels, eating out and finding entertainment for between games.

That's why it's no surprise to me when Cort Carlson, executive director of the Aurora Area CVB, says that "youth and adult sports tournaments continue to be a driving force for regional destination marketing." The Aurora area is becoming a major Ultimate (flying disc) tournament destination with the CVB securing three large Ultimate events this summer including the U.S. Ultimate Masters Championships in July, he said.

Tourism is big business. For example, tourism in DuPage County represents more than 23,000 employees and produces more than $2.5 billion in visitor expenditures, including $45 million in local tax receipts for DuPage municipalities and the County, says Beth Marchetti, executive director of the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau.

And to keep things fresh, hotels and restaurants have to renovate to keep visitors coming. We are seeing hoteliers tackle this across the suburbs. "It is awe-inspiring to see more than 20 hoteliers investing in property renovations," said Dave Parulo, president of Meet Chicago Northwest. Three of the largest properties in his area - The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, The Westin Chicago Northwest and the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg - have all invested millions into recent major renovations, he said.

Several new lodging upgrades were competed last year in the Aurora area, including the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Aurora. The former Baymont, North Aurora completed a renovation and rebranding to become a Comfort Inn & Suites and the North Aurora Hotel picked up the Rodeway Inn brand to once again fly a franchise flag.

There are also new hotels coming in. Private operators developed a new Hampton Inn, Home 2 Suites, Fairfield Inn and Town Place Suites all in Schaumburg. While Elk Grove Village's Holiday Inn gleams from a recent renovation, and Rolling Meadow's Holiday Inn has a redevelopment plan for its location. Arlington Heights is proud of a proposed development project in conjunction with the Arlington Downs project, Parulo said.

A littler further north, the Great Wolf Lodge Illinois is opening in Gurnee on July 1. And a new My Play Hotel is will open this summer in North Aurora and a new Holiday Inn Express and Suite in Yorkville will open later this year.

When it comes to entertainment venues, there is a lot to look forward to as well. Play 'N' Thrive opened a 41,000 square foot, climate-controlled center for sports including badminton, pickle ball and indoor cricket. Topgolf announced an upcoming facility in the former Motorola Campus in Schaumburg and Accelerate Indoor Speedway & Events is a new in Mokena. Cuneo Mansion and Gardens is also reopening to visitors in Vernon Hills this summer.

In this Hospitality and Entertainment Guide, we hope you will find other new, exciting venues to try. There are plenty that have been around that you may not have tried yet.

Thanks for reading.

Kim Mikus

Editor

Kim Mikus, Editor