Once-struggling Sacramento hotel market on a comeback

The once-struggling hotel market scene in Sacramento is bracing for a comeback. Media reports recently said that two major new hotel projects are all set to be launched this spring.

A hotel at an estimated cost of $24 million is due to be built at the Sacramento International Airport. A deal for this was signed recently. Another high-end $200-million-plus high-rise hotel would also come up adjacent to downtown NBA arena in partnership with the Kings. The launch is likely to take place in March or April next year.

Media reports Kings officials as saying that the construction of the hotel would start soon so that the opening of the newly-built hotel coincides with the inauguration of the new arena in fall 2016. The new hotel will consist of 250 rooms and can be accessed from both J Street and K Street plaza on the arena.

The timing of the opening of the Kings hotel is seemingly fortuitous. This can be gauged from the recent hotel industry data showing that room rates and hotel occupancy in Sacramento is significantly growing putting behind the losses in the past several years because of recession. Similarly, the passenger arrivals and departures have steadily grown at Sacramento International Airport over the last year, thus indicating that the region is attracting leisure and business travelers in a big way.

According to latest study by a hotel industry research firm, the Sacramento region is presently reporting hotel occupancies at about 62 percent, thus matching long-term averages. This is in stark contrast to a drop of 50 percent six years ago. The report also said that downtown hotels have shown 72 percent occupancy, up from 55 percent in 2009.