Chicago has been getting bad press, but hotel room nights in the city have increased compared to 2024, according to a recently released hotel metrics by Choose Chicago. Major events across June, July and August, including the American College of Chest Physicians, American Diabetes Association, Pride Fest and Lollapalooza, have contributed to the city’s numbers.
The numbers show the Windy City is on top
Amid news of immigration crackdown and confrontation with the Chicago public, meetings in the city continue to go unabated, as evidenced by recent major events.
In fact, hotel room nights have increased compared to 2024, according to a recently released hotel metrics by Choose Chicago, the city’s destination marketing organization. The numbers highlight travel to the city across June, July and August, during which Chicago’s Central Business District saw 3.56 million room rights, a 4.3% increase. The financials set a record as well, as these bookings totaled $949 million.
The Visitation Numbers
“Chicago is never done breaking records and never outdone as a global destination,” said Kristen Reynolds, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, in a press release.
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“Despite the global tourism industry facing social and economic headwinds, leisure travelers and event planners continue to choose Chicago for our world-class culture, food, events and hospitality. Our hotels and tourism partners have once again delivered an unforgettable summer season for millions of guests, further strengthening the industry’s $20 billion annual economic impact for our city and supporting 130,000 hospitality jobs across all 77 neighborhoods.”
Compared to national trends, Chicago came out on top. Despite the increase in hotel demand in the city, 2024’s nationwide hotel room demand saw a 0.5% decrease during the summer months. In 2024, the city saw 55.3 million visitors and generated $20.6 billion, $3 billion of which came from meetings and events.
This past summer, Chicago hosted major events, such as CHEST, a conference for the American College of Chest Physicians, held Oct. 19–22 at McCormick Place. More than 10,000 physicians were in attendance for the 90th annual event.
A Record-Breaking Summer
Additional summer events held at McCormick Place include American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Scientific Sessions conference during the weekend of June 21, which brings more than 11,000 attendees to the city, and NIKE Tournament of Champions the weekend of July 19, a youth basketball league championship that brings together teams from the United States and Canada.
From mid-July to the beginning of August, more than 365,000 were driven by these events, as well as events such as Labor Day weekend festivities, Pride Fest and Lollapalooza. Interest in the city remains, with ADA confirming events in Chicago in 2030 and 2034.
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Combined, these events resulted in a record-breaking summer for the city, and the four strongest individual weekends (Friday and Saturday) on record for Chicago hotels. The Chicago Department of Aviation reported its ten busiest days of all time during this period, particularly for leisure travelers, who represented an 11.2% increase compared to last year—an occupation of 2.5 million hotel rooms.
“Hotels throughout Chicago are encouraged by this momentum and look forward to continuing to welcome more visitors to our amazing city,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO, Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. “But we cannot rest on recent successes, as our industry faces a host of challenges caused by rising costs and ongoing economic uncertainty. We must remain focused on fostering a vibrant hospitality industry that allows for long-term growth, creates new opportunities for our employees and drives investment across the city.”
All for the Love
For the ninth year in a row, the city has been named Best Big City in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, and now locals and visitors can highlight the appeal.
Choose Chicago just launched its “All for the Love of Chicago” campaign, designed to encourage resident and visitors to share their on-the-ground experiences in Chicago. By posting a video or photo in Instagram or TikTok and tagging @allfortheloveofchicago, DMing the video to @allfortheloveofchicago, or submitting to Choose Chicago’s submission portal, you can share your thoughts about Chicago with the wider world.
