Peak year for Pittsburgh's hotels

Pittsburgh filled more hotel rooms in 2011 than it had in a decade and the city's prospects look even better this year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report. Citing figures from the city's tourism agency, VisitPittsburgh, the Post-Gazette says the overall occupancy rate for Pittsburgh hotels was 68.2% - better than the U.S. average of 60% and best over the city's competitors. Tourism officials attribute the good news to a mix of new convention business and increased popularity with tourists. TWITTER: Follow Hotel Check-In's BarbDeLollis The city's occupancy rate hadn't been that high in more than 10 years, the Post-Gazette says. The Tribune-Review says it's the city's highest hotel occupancy rate going back 21 years. "These are impressive numbers," Craig Davis, VisitPittsburgh's new CEO told the Post-Gazette. "And, we are proud of our strategic approach to marketing and advertising that assisted in these very positive returns." The Westin Convention Center Hotel's general manager, Tom Martini, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that 2011 for his hotel was its best in a decade. Room nights sold in the downtown area rose by about 10% last year vs. 2010, he said. Martini attribute the growth to the city's "escaping the worst of the recession and to the worldwide attention that the G-20 summit brought to the city in 2009," the Tribune-Review tells us. "That's when people said, 'We've got to see what Pittsburgh is about,' " Martini told the paper. National Geographic Traveler even named the city one of the best places in the world to experience in 2012. Room nights sold in the downtown area went up by 10,000 last year, about a 10% increase, and a similar jump is expected this year, Martini said. Increases come despite the fact that convention-center-area rooms now number about 4,000, vs. 2,5000 a decade ago. Pittsburgh's travel industry has more momentum this year. VisitPittsburgh booked more meetings and conventions in 2011 for future years than it did in 2010, the articles say. Readers: Where do you stay when visiting Pittsburgh?