Democratic National Convention Should Provide a Shot in the Arm for Chicago Hotels
City’s Hospitality Industry Should Expect Strong Boost in August 2024 Performance Based on Prior DNCs
April 13, 2023
costar.com
By: Romy Bhojwani
The Democratic National Convention announced this week it is returning to the Midwest for its 2024 convention, selecting Chicago in a move that, if history holds, could give the city's hospitality industry its best August revenue numbers in more than a decade.
This will be the 26th major political nominating convention held in the Windy City but the first since Democrats renominated Bill Clinton there in 1996. Chicago, which outbid Atlanta and New York, holds the record for hosting the most political conventions, followed by Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Chicago was chosen after getting top grades in an evaluation by the DNC’s Technical Advisory Group, a panel of experts who considered factors such as hotel capacity, transportation, security, financing and other logistics. The daytime business will be conducted at the McCormick Place Convention Center with evening events to be held at the United Center — the main site of the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago and, at 960,000 square feet, one of the largest arenas in North America.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention is expected to draw up to 7,000 delegates and alternates and attract up to 50,000 visitors to Chicago in August 2024.