Reno-Sparks seeing tourism rebound

Early signs point to a rise in tourism in the Reno-Sparks region.

Becky Lewis, who follows the hospitality industry for the real estate brokerge NAI Alliance, says hotel room rentals in February were 47 percent over November numbers.

And 140,372 more room-nights were sold in January and February than in 2009.

Ellen Oppenheim, president and chief executive officer of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, says three of the past four months have seen an increase in room tax revenues after 21 straight months of declines.

December saw a 4.4 percent increase, February a 16.2 percent increase and March a 9.4 percent increase in room tax revenues from 2009, Oppenheim says.

"Overall I would say that signs are encouraging and we are beginning to see glimmers," she says.

Hotel executives also say room nights are trending upward.

Richard Silverman, president of the Grand Sierra Resort, says the property saw an 8.3 percent increase in occupancy in the first quarter versus 2009 - and the property's popular room night promotion of $39 for two nights with a host of in-house comps contributed to nearly 70 percent of that growth.

The Grand Sierra expects to see a 5 percent growth in occupied rooms for the year.

Jeff Siri, chief executive officer of the Club Cal Neva, says occupancy was up 8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 versus year-earlier numbers.

Though January gaming revenues were down slightly, arrival of bowlers in February who are competing in the U.S. Bowling Congress Bowling Championships boosted gaming numbers for the last two months of the quarter at Club Cal Neva. The Club Cal Neva operates the 181-room Nevadan Tower across the street from its casino property.

Oppenheim says the bowling tournament is expected to draw more than 70,000 bowlers and about 45,000 guests to the region with an expected financial impact of about $127 million. The bowling tournament runs through early July.

Other tournaments and conventions in the market also have seen increased participation, she says. The Northern California Volleyball Association grew 4 percent from last year to 750 teams. The RSCVA expects $4.6 million in local spending generated from the volleyball tournament.

"They were bucking the trend that has been the case the last year-and-a-half of declining attendance, and that is another encouraging sign," Oppenheim says.

Bill Hughes, director of marketing operations at Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, says the Peppermill has had increased occupancy year-over-year for the past three years, but much of that boost may have come from opening its new Tuscany Tower and convention center.

"It probably had a big effect - it has encouraged repeat customers to come back into our building," Hughes says. "People doing getaway packages are coming back, and I think we have also got a lot of convention business due to quality of the property we have."

The Cal Neva's Siri says although occupancy is trending up, average spending per customer remains low.

"If people were coming with $200, now they are only showing up with a budget of $150 or less," he says. "We are still seeing that they are not spending what they used to spend per visit.

"Reno still is a huge bargain when it comes to travel," Siri adds. "Our room rates compared to a lot of markets are very low. If you go anywhere in California where it is tourist-oriented and then look at Reno, we are a huge bargain."

Beckie Lewis, hospitality specialist with NAI Alliance, says signs of increased occupancy and spending in the region should be viewed with caution. A bump in convention or tournament attendance may stem from the fact that fewer people are working and now have free time for leisure pursuits, she says.

"People are shopping a lot more than expected in this economy, but that is because a lot of people have downsized," Lewis says. "Everyone is doing lateral moves and spending less on their mortgages, and I think that is part of what is affecting our numbers."

Though Nevada is predicted to lag behind the rest of the nation in terms of recovery from the recession, increased tourism and consumer spending is a step in the right direction. Oppenheim says tourism colleagues across the county are seeing encouraging signs in travel patterns.

Siri says tourism is especially important to the downtown core properties, which rely on tourism for more than 50 percent of their revenues.

"I have a feeling we have hit the bottom of our downturn," Siri adds. "I think people are starting to loosen up with their money; trends are headed in the right direction. If we continue to see the same trends I think things will improve with time."