'Tis no secret that Boston is in the mist of a hotel-building boom, though an even louder apartment-building boom often drowns it out. Almost 4,200 new and majorly renovated rooms are due to hit the city by mid-2017. These include under-construction projects such as the 242-room Godfrey in Downtown Crossing (rendered) and the 330-room Aloft in Southie as well as the planned 175-room inn that's part of Boston Landing and the 211 Four Seasons rooms expected to go inside the 61-story 1 Dalton Street. It would appear the new inns can't come soon enough for tourists and business travelers.
That is because Boston just marked the highest May, June and July occupancy rates since the Great Recession, according to new statistics reported in the Boston Business Journal. Translation: The city's hotels were filled to the brim most late spring and summer nights. For instance, in July 88.1 percent of rooms were booked on any given evening. This is, of course, wonderful news for hotel owners and operators. Not so much for those trying to book.
Related: The Best Hotels for Staying Near Boston's Logan Airport
An uptick in tourism was perhaps the biggest reason for these highest-in-years occupancy rates. In particular, new direct flights from Beijing and Hong Kong are putting a lot more Chinese tourists on the ground here. These and other overseas visitors spend more nights in Boston than your typical domestic arrival, ensuring that many fewer available hotel rooms. And round and round it goes. Until there's sufficient supply. Stay tuned.
· Boston's 2015 Tourism Season Was Best in Years [Biz Journal]
· Our Updated Map of the Many New Hotels Going Up in Boston [Curbed Boston]
· The Biggest Greater Boston Apartment Openings in 2015 [Curbed Boston]
· Exclusive Tour of Downtown Crossing's New Godfrey Hotel [Curbed Boston]
· Here's Boston's Tallest Residential Tower Against the Skyline [Curbed Boston]