Despite downtown facing staggering office vacancy rates and overall low levels of activity, the hospitality market appears to be booming.
According to a recent report published by the DTLA Alliance, the neighborhood just topped 10,000 hotel rooms and has another 8,000 in the pipeline.
“Downtown is the place to stay when visiting Los Angeles,” Suzanne Holley, president and chief executive of the DTLA Alliance, said.
Visitation rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to the report, and, out of the 50 million annual visitors coming to Los Angeles, 17 million head downtown.
Per square mile, the downtown area boasts 157 food and beverage establishments and 743 retail businesses, five and 10 times the city’s density, respectively, with plenty of access to sports, entertainment and cultural institutions, along with dining and nightlife options.
Hospitality primed for more growth
And with Los Angeles in the global spotlight over the next decade – namely for events including the 2028 Olympics, the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Super Bowl – the overall Los Angeles hospitality industry is gearing up to welcome a handful of visitors, downtown being no exception.
Downtown has more than 8,000 new hotel rooms inthe development pipeline, according to the DTLA Alliance report, illustrating investor’s interest to meet that demand.
And for meeting planners and travel consultants, the DTLA Alliance report also highlights the amount of space downtown has available for business events, gatherings and other types of meetings.
The Los Angeles Convention Center features 720,000 square feet of meeting space, along with another 700,000 square feet of additional meeting space in its adjacent hotel and tens of thousands of square feet of space at non-traditional and outdoor venues.
“The hospitality sector continues to expand organically with upward trends in visitation and new projects highlighting the market’s appetite for additional inventory and investment,” Nick Griffin, DTLA Alliance’s executive vice president, added.
