Philadelphia Lodging Market Will Struggle Until Conventions, Tourists Return

For years, the Philadelphia hotel market had been riding high, enjoying record visitation from tourists, strong convention demand and finally getting national recognition for some of its top-notch restaurants. But the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the market; revenue per available room — an industry standard metric of hotel performance — dropped 58% in the past 12 months, and conventions have been canceled for the foreseeable future.