I don't have any empirical numbers, etc, about vacancy rates etc, but here is a little story. My buddy, a consultant from manhattan, is/has been working in Chicago over the last two months. Flies in on Monday, leaves for NYC Thursday evenings...over and over again :-) Anyhow, for the past 4 weeks he has not been able to find a hotel in the city for under on average about $450. In fact, about 4 weeks ago there was not single room in the city...he HAD to stay in LISLE Illinois, 30 miles west.
His statement to me, in that slightly arrogant NY manner :-) "One thing I can say for Chicago, its hotel prices sure blow the roof off what we have in New York." For some reason, this impressed him. Anyhow, last week, Marriott Courtyard, 4 night, $1975...the hotel business is good.
P.S. He stayed in town the other weekend at the James Hotel and said that of all the places he has ever stayed in his career as a consultant, The James ranked in the top 2, if not #1. Just interesting I thought.
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"Chicago doesn't need Bryant to feel like a big-time player, just as it doesn't need Donald Trump to build a tower downtown to feel adequate. Nice that Trump's doing it, but when you have the Sears Tower and the Hancock building, you're pretty secure with who you are. And when somebody named Michael Jordan has graced your presence, somebody named Kobe Bryant isn't going to shake your world." Rick Morrissey, 2007
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