Experience Scottsdale reports record convention business, cites 238,000 room nights for FY24–25

Experience Scottsdale said Wednesday that its convention-sales team generated a record 238,000 room nights for Scottsdale hotels during the 2024–25 fiscal year and produced year‑over‑year gains in business leads and earned-media coverage. The report came during the Tourism Development Commission meeting on Sept. 16, when Rachel Pearson, vice president of community and government affairs for Experience Scottsdale, presented the organization’s fourth-quarter and fiscal‑year final results. “We were able to achieve and exceed many of those,” Pearson told commissioners, referring to the 17 performance standards in Experience Scottsdale’s contract with the city. Pearson said convention sales were up 21 percent from the prior year and that leads were up about 17 percent. She said non‑peak (“need‑time”) business accounted for 35 percent of the room nights booked and that corporate groups from financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical, manufacturing and high tech remained strong. The organization hosted more than 60 journalists for press trips in the last quarter and reported more than 4,000 positive media hits for the destination over the year. Commissioners asked whether the organization expected further increases next fiscal year. Pearson said Experience Scottsdale had redeployed staff into new markets and was “on pace to meet, if not beat” the record room‑night total but added that forecasts could change. Pearson said Experience Scottsdale will publish a full annual report in the coming weeks and invited commissioners to the organization’s annual meeting in November, where staff will review the state of the industry and plans going forward. No commission vote was required on the informational report.