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Visit Manhattan reports first‑quarter hotel occupancy, bookings and sports tourism activity
Summary
Visit Manhattan Director Marcia Roselle reported quarterly tourism metrics including occupancy, short‑term rental growth, large sports events and sales leads; staff said February occupancy was light but Fake Patty’s Day produced the single highest occupancy date of the quarter.
Marcia Roselle, director of Visit Manhattan, presented the tourism office’s first‑quarter report and key performance indicators to the Manhattan City Commission on March 25.
Roselle said the visitor economy generated an estimated $227.3 million in economic impact in 2023 (final 2024 data expected soon). Year‑to‑date hotel occupancy was 43.8% with February lower than other months; Roselle noted the single highest occupancy day of the quarter was Saturday, March 8 (Fake Patty’s Day) at 98% for individual properties. Short‑term rental inventory is growing: staff reported 272 active short‑term rental properties in February accounting for nearly 6,000 room‑nights of supply; short‑term rental occupancy was roughly 42% compared with a 44% occupancy for hotels in the same period.
Visit Manhattan’s sales team (named staff: Jen Alley, Lauren Chard and Julie Val de Paris) reported a strong booking pipeline: the bureau counted booked meetings and events, including the Kansas Recreation and Park Association (450 attendees) and the Kansas Association of Educational Service Agencies (350 attendees) during the quarter. Sports tourism activity included two large events (state basketball and Kansas Special Olympics) that together generated nearly $500,000 in estimated economic impact. Roselle said a contracted sports tourism study by Huddle Up Group will produce a playbook to guide future sports attraction work.
Roselle described marketing investments tied to expanded air service to Chicago and said Visit Manhattan has increased digital advertising in Omaha, Kansas City and Wichita to support the airport service expansion. Commissioners asked about data sources for credit‑card spending and whether card‑tap counts could overstate unique visitor numbers; Roselle said she would follow up on methodology. One commissioner emphasized the role of Visit Manhattan in offsetting revenue impacts from projected Fort Riley changes and urged continued coordination.
Why it matters: Hospitality tax revenue, hotel occupancy and large conferences/sports events directly affect downtown businesses and transient guest tax receipts. The report shows Visit Manhattan actively pursuing bookings and sports events while short‑term rentals continue to expand the local lodging market.
