by Glen Richardson
Upstream: Just a half mile up Cherry Creek from Cherry Creek North, in the city of Glendale, there is also a hotel boom occurring, including at CitySet a hotel/dining complex anchored by two hotels (Residence Inn and Hilton Garden Inn) separated by a dining plaza featuring over a half dozen restaurants and eateries.
After Metro Denver suffered the greatest loss in hotel occupancy levels since the Great Depression, there’s been a surprising upsurge in Cherry Creek North and Glendale. Despite the addition of four hotels since 2016 in Cherry Creek North, luxury lodging in the 16-block mixed-use district reports growth in occupancy, length of stay, and types of visitors. Glendale, in turn, expects a return to pre-pandemic occupancy levels as soon as the end of the year.
However, in downtown Denver with more than 50,000 first-class hotel rooms, the loss of convention and meeting business continues to drag down occupancy. Hotels downtown are forecast to average just 48.8% occupancy this year, up from 39.2% in 2020. Average daily room rates are expected to be up just slightly (0.7%). Visitors are looking for more amenities, rather than conference rooms and convention spaces. Cherry Creek’s JW Marriott, for example, is outperforming many downtown hotels.
With the rise in travel, hotels downtown can’t hire back the number of employees needed to meet the demand. Tony Dunn, General Manager of the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, told 9News Denver, “We thought it would be a problem for two-three months and it has become a 12-13-month problem.” Nevertheless, the Mile High City continues to renovate hotels while adding new hotels, including a half-dozen expected to open by year’s end. Another six to eight are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Some, however, fear that downtown Denver has become stigmatized as an unsafe area with homelessness, uncleanliness, graffiti, and rising crime rates becoming impossible to ignore.
New Hotel Mecca
Travel Hot Spot: The walkable, tree-lined blocks in Cherry Creek North have helped the district hotel business snap back. The JW Marriott and the district’s newer hotels report growth in occupancy, length of stay, plus new types of visitors.
For more than a decade, the recently remodeled 196 guestroom JW Marriott on Clayton Lane was the only hotel in Cherry Creek North. Then in August of 2016 the Halcyon — a luxury boutique space with 154 rooms-suites opened. Since then, three more hotels opened their doors. They are the 170-room Moxy on Josephine St. in 2017, the 201-room Jacquard on Milwaukee in 2018, plus the Clayton — a Member Club & Hotel — that opened this year. The additions have transformed the district from a place to visit to a place to stay.
Now, within 16 blocks, tourists, travelers, and sightseers can choose from five hotels offering a combined three rooftop pools plus several speakeasy-style bars. Each offers exceptional dining focused on providing unique experiences for their guests.
Hidden Hip Spots: Several Cherry Creek hotels have speakeasy-style bars, including the B&GC, a clandestine drinking spot in the Halcyon revived from ruins of a former post office.
Just a half mile away up Cherry Creek the 0.6 square mile City of Glendale has also been increasing hotel space. In 2012, CitySet, a hotel dining complex at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Creek Drive South, was completed with over one-half dozen restaurants and anchored by two hotels — 210 room Hilton Garden Inn and the 125 room Residence Suites Cherry Creek. The small city surrounded by Denver has a total of seven hotels with an aggregate of 1,026 rooms. Glendale Deputy City Manager Chuck Line stated that while revenues from hotels in Glendale were down 53% in August, compared to 2019 by August of this year, it had climbed up to being down only 17% compared to 2019.
Swing In Visitors
RugbyTown: Glendale markets itself as RugbyTown USA and features Infinity Park a stadium that holds international test matches attracting fans and players from across the globe that stay in Glendale’s seven hotels accommodating over a thousand rooms.
Since reopening their doors, the district’s hotels have seen a shift in the type of visitor to Cherry Creek North. For one, hotel leisure travel has increased from 50% to about 75%. They now fill many of the rooms that group and business travel once did.
Moreover, the average length of stay increased from about 1.5 nights to two. In addition, front desks are welcoming many guests who have never before chosen to book a room outside of downtown Denver.
“Adding hotels has been huge for the identity of Cherry Creek North,” says Candace Duran, Sales-Marketing Director at the Halcyon. “It’s so inspiring to be part of the maturation of the district. They make it easier to stay past 5 p.m., which keeps more people in the neighborhood and supporting area businesses.”
International Destination: Glendale’s Hampton Inn, along with other hotels in the village, are an international destination as rugby players from around the world stay here for international rugby test matches and other rugby tournaments.
Glendale’s hotel occupancy has been greatly enhanced with the addition of the world renown rugby stadium complex named Infinity Park. The governing body of rugby union in the United States, USA Rugby, has moved to Glendale, and national teams from across the world are now playing international test matches in the stadium, along with games featuring Glendale’s own highly acclaimed team with top flight national players known as the American Raptors. The Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce COO Jeff Allen noted, “As a result of having national rugby championships and international test matches, our hotels are often filled with many international visitors on any given weekend. It has given Glendale a cosmopolitan feel that it certainly never had before.”
Shift From Downtown
“People historically came to Denver for the iconic attractions, shows, and sporting events, but began looking for something new when everything shut down,” explains Sean McNamara, JW Marriott’s Sales-Marketing Director. “Cherry Creek North provided the safety of being outdoors while also being known as a shopping, art, and dining destination.”
Charting Downtown Decline: Chart by the Downtown Denver Partnership compares downtown activity today compared to pre-pandemic levels.
District hotels also found that offering discount rates and unique package deals throughout the pandemic opened up new possibilities for value-conscious travelers looking to book an exceptional last-minute staycation. Deals included gift cards or complimentary passes to the district’s walkable dining, spa, fitness, and shopping options.
“We saw so many guests who had never stayed in Cherry Creek North before,” says the Jacquard’s Melissa Bush, Sales-Marketing Director. “People could suddenly get a luxury hotel experience at a price point that worked for them.”
Quick Recovery
Splish, Splash: Three Cherry Creek hotels feature rooftop pools to attract guests including this one at the Halcyon. Visitors are looking for more amenities, rather than conference rooms and convention spaces.
Now, rooms and occupancy rates in Cherry Creek North are nearing pre-pandemic levels, which is especially encouraging compared to hotel recovery nationally. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report projects U.S. hotel occupancy this year to increase to 57.1%, with average daily room rates gaining 8%.
In Cherry Creek North, Duran reported that the Halcyon has exceeded financial goals for several months in a row, while JW Marriott’s McNamara saw steady and continued increases in both occupancy and average daily rate from June to November of 2020, with growth continuing this year.
Nick LeMasters, CEO of the Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District, believes the neighborhood “has emerged as a premier travel destination for people from near and far.” He adds that with five hotels, a high concentration and variety of restaurants and boutiques, and walkability of the area, “ It makes sense that people come to visit and end up staying.”
Glendale’s Allen emphasizes that, “The corridor along Cherry Creek streams from Glendale through Cherry Creek North, and now has enough hotel venues and dinner, sporting, and entertainment outlets to favorably compete with anybody in Colorado. These are very exciting times for this area.”
