Suburban hospitality industry saw continued recovery in 2023

The Schaumburg-based convention and visitors bureau Meet Chicago Northwest marked its 40th anniversary in 2023 by seeing 3 million overnight visitors bring a 6.5% increase in hotel room revenue from the eight communities it serves.

Bureau President Heather Larson said the Northwest suburbs, in fact, saw the largest percentage increase in the average daily room rate in the Chicago area.

And that brings bigger rewards than just the hotel revenue, she added.

“It’s important to understand that when guests stay in our hotels, they dine in our restaurants, they shop in our stores and they fill up their gas tanks — they spend money across the region supporting many businesses and providing jobs,” Larson said. “This helps to sustain the wide variety of amazing restaurants, retail establishments and attractions that our residents are also able to enjoy.”

Meet Chicago Northwest is a nonprofit, 501c6, destination marketing organization that promotes events, conventions and leisure visits to the area on behalf of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Itasca, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wood Dale.

One of the bigger adjustments being made to the post-pandemic professional world is in its use and amount of office space. The way the suburban hospitality market is most affected by that is in the nationwide reduction of business travelers’ use of extended-stay hotels to be near such offices away from their homes, Larson said.

Nevertheless, the proximity to O’Hare International Airport and the growth of other amenities in the area are offsetting that decline by attracting more group meetings and conventions, she added.

“The suburbs are enjoying a renaissance,” Larson said. “Meeting and event planners are seeking out suburban destinations that are home to many of the great restaurants and attractions you can find in the big cities as well as many attractions you can't find in downtown markets, like golf venues such as Topgolf and 390 Golf Experience, as well as our courses. And it's a hassle-free experience without the long commute from the airport, traffic, parking fees, and safety concerns.”

Larson said she foresees even more growth in 2024, especially in the meeting and events industry. She believes smaller regional meetings and conventions will become more popular, with people feeling more disconnected at the large-format trade shows.

With work-from-home and hybrid meetings now post-pandemic realities for employees, Larson adds, periodic in-person meetings and conventions will be even more sought out as opportunities for collaboration.

She explained a bit of the process the Meet Chicago Northwest staff employs to promote the area northwest of O’Hare for such gatherings.

“Our sales team passionately promotes this area to meeting and event producers across the Midwest and nationally,” Larson said. “In 2023, this included crisscrossing the country to attend more than 40 trade conferences. A multimillion dollar renovation will help to bolster the number of large events booked into the Schaumburg Convention Center, a significant driver of economic impact in the region.”

Schaumburg is home to 30 of the Northwest suburbs’ hotels, and the village owns the Renaissance hotel attached to the convention center. Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said the regional branding and face-to-face marketing Meet Chicago Northwest is able to do exceeds that of any individual property.

“I think their reach is probably the biggest thing,” he said of the bureau’s value.

Among other factors that helped Meet Chicago Northwest in 2023 was its share of the state budget’s $22.5 million in grant funding for Illinois tourism — a $7.5 million increase from the year before.

“Coming out of our 40th anniversary year, we are thankful for the strong support we received from the state of Illinois and Cook County with additional tourism grants for both our hospitality partners as well as our bureau,” Larson said. “Meet Chicago Northwest was able to secure two additional grants that will go a long way to attract visitors and economic impact to the region for the foreseeable future.”