Duluth Hotel Rates Still Affected from Pandemic

DULUTH, Minn.– Duluth is a popular destination for conventions, events, and conferences, but lately, it’s been facing its own set of challenges.

Since the pandemic, Duluth’s hotel industry has been working to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

The general manager of the Sheraton Hotel says that over the past year, their average daily rates have remained flat, and they’ve seen a decline in occupancy over the last six months.

“If you think of it in just simple business terms. When you have a lower number of customers and you’re not able to raise or change your rates, you take a hit to the bottom line in a sense,” said Karen Pionk, General Manager at Sheraton Hotel.

To address these challenges, they’re developing a strategy to increase both rates and occupancy.

“We’re going to be reconstructing and setting a model for traditional destination management organization. or ‘DMO’ is what we all say. Which will really focus on and have the resources to focus on the sales and the market efforts at the same time,” said Pionk.

The goal with the “DMO” is to increase the number people attending conventions, to return to Duluth for a vacation in the future.

In addition, they’re working to raise numbers to pre-pandemic levels.