Cities with a direct rail connection linking their airports with their downtowns command higher hotel rates than cities without them, translating to an average of more than $300 million in taxable revenue per year, a new study found.
The study, “A New Partnership: Rail Transit and Convention Growth” jointly released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), found that cities with direct rail access from downtown to airport terminals receive nearly 11 percent more revenue per room than hotels in cities without a rail airport connection. Luxury hotels do even better, generating 12.4 percent more revenue per room.
“The availability of rail access to airport terminals can actually strengthen the attractiveness of destinations overall, as well the performance of hotel properties near rail stations -- particularly when it comes to welcoming meeting and convention attendees,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the USTA, in a statement. “The benefits of rail continue down the line, with increased hotel, restaurant, business and tourism revenue that help support our entire economy.”
In fact, that 11 percent revenue boost -- which has grown to 16 percent if you only count the post-recession years -- brings in $313 million more revenue for cities with a direct terminal-to-downtown rail connection, the study said.
And hotels within a quarter mile of that downtown rail station have a 12.5 percent higher occupancy rate and are able to command a nearly 50 percent higher room rate.
The study also found that a direct mass transit link between airport terminals and city centers provides a competitive edge in winning international meetings, conventions, and events business. International meetings held in the U.S. in 2012 brought in $38 billion in revenue and generated $5.7 billion in taxes.
The study looked at Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Portland, and San Francisco, six cities with airport-to-city-center rail connections, and compared them with five major convention cities without these rail links -- Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, and Sacramento and Tampa
“Highway and airports alone will not have the capacity or the dexterity to serve the growing travel markets of the future,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy in a statement. “Development of higher-performing intercity passenger rail corridors will be critical to America’s future.”