September 29, 2026
Provided Image/Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau
Center City hotels reported record-setting revenue this summer, capitalizing on Philly's busy events schedule.
With Philly seeing a tourism boom for its busy 2026 slate of evens, Center City hotels on Tuesday reported having a record-setting summer.
From May 1-Aug. 31, they brought in $335.6 million, a 20.6% increase compared with the same period in 2025, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB).
The tourism agency said it set record highs during that timeframe in average daily rates for rooms and revenue per available room, which measures a hotel's ability to book rooms at a competitive rate. The ADR was $257, an 18.9% increase compared with last year, and the RevPAR averaged $188, a 22.2% spike.
The increased traffic was attributed to the semiquincentennial, World Cup, MLB All Star Game and PGA Championship — events that brought over 1.4 million visitors to the city this summer, according to Fox 29. The PHLCVB said it hopes to capitalize on the tourism boom by attracting more events and conferences to the city in the years to come.
In 2027, Philadelphia will host the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional Championship and the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship. The Army-Navy game will also be played at Lincoln Financial Field next year in December — a game that's expected to bring more than 69,000 visitors to the city, the bureau said.
Philly is also expecting to draw tens of thousands of visitors for meetings and conventions, including the American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture & Design, Biotechnology International Conference, International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and the AACR Philadelphia Marathon.
"For the PHLCVB, this summer is more than a moment," Gregg Caren, president and CEO of the PHLCVB, said in a statement. "It's a powerful proof point that we can leverage to drive visitation and economic impact for years to come."
Philadelphia's hotels experienced a wave of uncertainty leading up to the summer. FIFA unexpectedly canceled 2,000 room bookings in the spring and industry leaders like Ed Grose, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, said hotels were experiencing lower-than-expected bookings.
However, following Philly's six World Cup matches, Grose called the tournament a "transformational event" for the hospitality industry as a whole. After the PHLCVB's revenue report Tuesday, he expressed hope for the long-term stability of the city's tourism industry at large.
"Increased revenue provides meaningful support not only for our properties, but for the thousands of people who work in them every day," Grose said in a statement. "A strong summer like this creates greater stability for our hotel community while reinforcing the value of continuing to attract events that bring overnight visitors to Philadelphia."
