“The outlook for 2025 remains robust,” Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in an article posted by the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. “Elevated room rates and strategic event planning promise a positive trend, despite some uncertainties.”
Churchill Downs’ $100 million Owensboro Racing & Gaming facility, 460 Wrights Landing Road, is slated to open in February, he said.
And the 144-room Home2 Suites hotel across Second Street from the Owensboro Convention Center is expected to open next year.
Calitri said, both “promise to elevate Owensboro’s appeal to visitors.”
With the new hotel, he said Owensboro will have 1,489 rooms.
That’s almost back to the 1,565 the city had in 2002 when the old Executive Inn was at its peak.
He said that the Owensboro Convention Center “has reported strong bookings for 2025, promising a steady stream of business.”
Outdoor sports, Calitri said, are “a significant contribution to occupancy rates. It continues to thrive, bolstering weekend and seasonal stays.”
But, he said, outdoor sports are filling fewer hotel rooms than in the past.
“While the number of dates booked is strong, the number of teams has decreased and how far people are willing to travel has changed,” Calitri said.
He said corporate travel is growing.
Calitri said, “We have secured some key group travel conferences that will introduce Owensboro as a new destination for bus tours.”
The local hospitality industry struggled during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Local hotels saw occupancy rates slip to 36.9% in 2020.
But it’s made a strong comeback in the years since with a record-setting hotel occupancy of 59% in 2022 and 2023. The state estimates that tourists spent $250 million in Daviess County last year.
Of that, $31.9 million was spent at local hotels — a new record and $1 million above the 2022 mark, according to Smith Travel Research, a national company that tracks such data around the world.
January will see “several high-profile events, including the prestigious All A Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament, as well as the Kentucky Cattlemen conference and USA Archery,” he said.
September, Calitri said, may “set occupancy records with the combination of the returning Special Olympics softball state championships and new groups including Defenders Law Rally, Glidden Auto National Conference, Kentucky Ambulance Association, Kentucky League of Cities, and Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyors.
He said, “The primary uncertainty for 2025 lies in the addition of a new downtown hotel, which could introduce competitive pressures and potential disruptions.”
People aren’t booking rooms as early as they used to.
Calitri said, “The booking window for hotels continues to shrink, making it harder to project occupancies. This is a national trend that we will need to follow closely.”
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