Saturday, June 21, 2025

The King County hotel business is battling persistent economic challenges. While booking about 65% of their rooms at an average rate of $167, both rates being somewhat softer than last year, rising costs of doing business, lethargy in growth in occupancy, and interest rates adding to the mix to take profitability down, regional tourism officials worry that projected declines in international visits to America will add to woes, even hotel closures.

As one Everett hotel rep, Everton, puts it, “Our hotels suffer and will suffer for several months to come.” The situation is still grim, and King County accounts for roughly 41% of Washington hotel inventory, providing 43,000 rooms statewide per day. The outlook is not positive, though. Statewide hotel occupancy rates average 60%, 1.5% down from last year, and at an average rate of $142.

While are seeing a slight dip in occupancy rates, there are larger, more pressing issues at play. Between , the for hotels rose by , but that only equates to an annual growth rate of about . In , the growth barely outpaced during the same period.

At the same time, have surged. Since , has increased by nearly , rose by , and certain have more than doubled. for , which are commonly used for hotel financing, have also increased by , putting further financial pressure on local hotels.

“Some of the have closed or handed their keys back to their lenders because they simply can’t afford to refinance,” said Everton. “ may be facing similar situations soon.”

In addition to rising operational costs, the hotel industry faces in . While (Sea-Tac) has added , particularly to and , the is concerning. has forecast a drop in to the U.S. this year, which will disproportionately affect regions like , where international travelers make up a significant portion of hotel guests.

In particular, —a more rural part of Washington—has already seen , attributed to a . The trend of in Seattle and surrounding areas is now a major concern for the region’s tourism authorities. Everton stressed the importance of increasing the number of to compensate for these losses.

Despite the challenges, . According to a recent , plan to take a trip within the next six months, though of these travelers say they are opting for more affordable options. This trend has implications for the , as may not be sustainable if travelers are increasingly choosing more budget-friendly accommodations.

“We need to get more travelers, more visitors, more tourists, more business travel, more corporations coming, more conventions,” Everton added. It’s clear that while demand for travel is strong, the focus must shift toward attracting and who may be more likely to travel in a environment.

In response to the shifting travel landscape, King County’s has reallocated its marketing budget to focus on major . Instead of focusing on , where interest from Canadian travelers has waned, the emphasis has shifted to cities such as , , , Chicago, New York, and Boston. This reallocation is aimed at bringing more U.S. tourists to the region, countering the decline in international interest.

“We’ve moved most of our marketing away from Canada due to the negativity we were receiving from Canadian travelers at least for now,” Everton noted. “Instead, we’ve redirected those marketing dollars to more promising U.S. cities with strong potential for tourism growth.”

Another area of focus for the tourism authority is the growing cruise passenger market. With Seattle being a major cruise hub, the city has worked hard to encourage cruise passengers to extend their stay before or after their voyages. Everton emphasized the importance of targeting cruise tourists, who are often eager to explore the region beyond their brief port-of-call stops.

“We’re working hard to get cruise passengers to stay longer in Seattle, to visit surrounding areas like Tukwila and Des Moines,” he explained. This strategy could help bring in more tourism dollars, offsetting some of the challenges the hotel industry faces.

Hotel properties in King County are at a crossroads, experiencing rising operation costs and declining international visitors to impact profitability. Hotel bookings in the region remain uncertain, but it is feasible to capitalize on strong domestic trip demands and shift marketing forces to U.S. target markets. Growing corporate events, business travelers, and extension stay for cruisers will be important in growing tourism revenue in the region.

As it works to overcome these challenges, King County’s businesses, tourism commissions, and accommodations will be asked to collaborate to find innovative solutions to contain costs while building visitor demand. King County’s tourism industry will be in a position to recover and surpass previous years only if it adapts to changing travel patterns and focuses on key areas of growth.

Source: KING5