GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - If you're still planning to book a hotel downtown during ArtPrize, you're probably out of luck.
Downtown area hotels we spoke with have been booked solid for ArtPrize, for months. That means tourists flooding into town or anyone still hoping for a hotel during ArtPrize may need to look further from the city.
Sr. Vice President of Experience Grand Rapids, Janet Korn, understands this could be the busiest year for ArtPrize and hotel bookings so far.
"We’re projecting that 2016 will be the 6th straight year of increased tourism in Kent County and we measure that from hotel sales, revenue and our occupancy rate," said Korn.
General Manager for CityFlatsHotel, Marvin Meckl, has seen the problem first-hand.
"The trend we saw here last year already is that people book for next year just to secure a room, we book out far in advanced," said Meckl. "Not only are the hotels booked up, it brings plenty of guests that just simply walk through the hotel."
Which means big business economically for the downtown area.
"It's huge and I think the largest part of the economic impact are the things that happen; not in 19 days of art prize, it's really the change that it's putting on the face of Grand Rapids and to the world which pays dividends all year long," said Korn.
If you're still looking for a room during ArtPrize, Korn encourages you to look in the suburbs of GR. Some even offer free shuttles to downtown, helping you make the most out of ArtPrize Seven.
You can find out more by going to experiencegr.com, from there you can even book your hotel room. But make sure to book it soon, they're filling up fast. To download the ArtPrize mobile app, click here.
