SEATTLE — With help from this weekend's Capitol Hill Block Party and Friday's sold-out Mariners game against the Houston Astros, data from event intelligence service Predict HQ points to Seattle as being one of the busiest cities in the country.
"Mid-July to the first week of August, that's our busiest season," said Anthony Anton with the Washington State Hospitality Association.
While welcome news to an industry hit hard during COVID-19, city and state hospitality leaders are meeting Friday to discuss how to best navigate coming out of the pandemic.
"What we're really seeing is that leisure traveler that maybe backed out and hadn't done a trip in a while, that were meaning to see Seattle before the pandemic. They're starting to come back," said Anton.
The sentiment is echoed by some tourists visiting Seattle this week.
"The last couple of years we've really only traveled where we could drive to, that southeast region and these kids wanted to go someplace different," said Angela Rosenburg who was in Seattle on vacation with her husband and two children.
Seattle hospitality is up about 70% from where it was pre-pandemic. No doubt a win from 2020, but that's still down 30%.
"The lodging industry is so important to economic development on so many levels," Anton said.
While events, conventions and weddings all bring people in, only about a third of what people spend when they visit is in the hotel. The other two-thirds are at restaurants or on retail and services like tours.
"We are spending a couple days in the city and then we're heading to Olympic National Park to do some sightseeing and hiking," said Rosenburg.
All that spending goes back into the economy.
"It creates jobs that all pay taxes and helps us grow," said Anton.
Although Friday's meeting is a celebration of where the industry has come, Anton says it's also about looking to and planning for the future.
The events we are seeing now Anton says were likely booked before the pandemic.
"So what we have to do now is fill up the calendar those conventions that typically book four or five years back," Anton said.
Another agenda item on Friday's meeting will be navigating the staffing issues still plaguing the industry, which is still short 45% of staff needed to run lodging in Puget Sound.
"We are having difficulties finding good people, well any people really," said Bill Weise, general manager of the Silver Cloud Hotel Stadium Hotel who says the hotel is now operating with 100 employees out of the around 150 needed.
Weise will also be part of Friday's meeting helping to discuss new ways of hiring.
He says if you're looking to get into the industry now is a good time.
"They're promoting quickly because there's just not a lot of competition," said Weise.