Conventions help to set record hotel occupancy in March

Boston Business Journal: More gatherings at the Hynes Convention Center in March pushed Great Boston’s hotel occupancy to their highest level since 2005, according to the latest PKF Consulting survey.

The March 2013 performance for Greater Boston hotels achieved the highest ADR since 2008, and highest RevPAR since 2007. The best March for the region over the last eight years, based on our Monthly Trends sample, was 2007 with a RevPAR of $127.82.

“March was a huge convention month,” said Andrea Foster, vice president of PKF Consulting. “The total room nights was 54,000 this year compared to 30,000 a year ago, that’s an 80 percent increase. Hynes had a notable convention with the World Irish Dancing Championship and that resulted in more than 22,000 rooms booked. ”

Hotels approved for convention center area

Boston Globe: Boston regulators have approved construction of two hotels across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the first part of a $2 billion expansion proposed for the South Boston complex.

Construction on the site, situated on a vacant stretch of D Street, will start by the end of the year. The project, which includes a total of 510 hotel rooms, was approved Thursday night by the board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The project is the first phase of a broader expansion that would include another hotel of up to 1,000 rooms, public parks, and a doubling of the convention center’s exhibit space. Those latter components will probably require some kind of government funding or subsidies, such as additional taxes that must be approved by the state Legislature.

Officials with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority have said additional hotel rooms are badly needed in order to land larger events at the South Boston hall. Currently, large trade shows must book rooms across the city to house attendees, which is inconvenient for attendees and can add thousands of dollars in transportation costs. 

Hotels approved for convention center area

Boston Globe: Boston regulators have approved construction of two hotels across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the first part of a $2 billion expansion proposed for the South Boston complex.

Construction on the site, situated on a vacant stretch of D Street, will start by the end of the year. The project, which includes a total of 510 hotel rooms, was approved Thursday night by the board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The project is the first phase of a broader expansion that would include another hotel of up to 1,000 rooms, public parks, and a doubling of the convention center’s exhibit space. Those latter components will probably require some kind of government funding or subsidies, such as additional taxes that must be approved by the state Legislature.

Officials with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority have said additional hotel rooms are badly needed in order to land larger events at the South Boston hall. Currently, large trade shows must book rooms across the city to house attendees, which is inconvenient for attendees and can add thousands of dollars in transportation costs. 

Mass Life Sciences Center launches International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP)

On April 22, 2013, at the BIO International Convention, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced the launch of a new International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP). The creation of ICIP stemmed from international demand to partner with Massachusetts life sciences companies in jointly advancing R&D efforts for new products and processes intended for commercialization.

The MLSC will partner with Victoria, Australia; the Wallonia region of Belgium; Quebec, Canada; and Alsace in France to award funding to support winning projects demonstrating innovative and collaborative research and development (R&D) in Massachusetts and in the partnering regions. The program will enable company partners from biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and bioinformatics to submit project applications.Center launches International Collaborative Industry Program (ICIP).