Mooresville hotel revenues rise

Mooresville hotels saw more people book rooms in fiscal 2011-2012 as the national economy improved, more race fans returned for Charlotte Motor Speedway events, and Mooresville’s new Mazeppa Road Park attracted soccer and softball tournaments.

In his annual report Jan. 7 to the Mooresville Board of Commissioners, Ron Johnson, chairman of the Mooresville Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, also credited the Mooresville Graded School District for the uptick in room bookings. Guests came from across the world to learn about the district’s student laptop initiative, he said.

“They’ve been a big supporter of our hotels,” Johnson said of the school district Jan. 8 during an interview with the Observer.

Total revenues at Mooresville hotels in fiscal 2011-2012 amounted to $19.8 million – a 12.8 percent increase over 2010-2011, which saw $17.6 million in revenues, Johnson said.

Hotels sold 228,000 room nights in fiscal 2011-2012, which ended June 30, Johnson said. The bureau doesn’t have a 2010-11 figure to compare, he said, “but I know we sold more rooms because the economy in 2010-11 was at the bottom.”

Higher room rates also factor into the higher year-to-year revenues, Johnson said. But hotels raise rates only as demand increases, he noted.

Mazeppa Road Park, which opened in July 2011, also helped room bookings. The bureau brought in six soccer tournaments and three girls’ fast-pitch softball tournaments thanks to the new fields at the park, said Johnson, who receives no salary as bureau chairman.

Johnson expects 2012-13 hotel revenues to far surpass 2011-12.

One reason is the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September, which helped fill Mooresville hotels, he said. A 99-room Candlewood Suites opened off Interstate 77 Exit 33 the week of the convention, boosting the number of hotel rooms in Mooresville to 1,099. As far as Mooresville room bookings, he said, “the DNC was the greatest thing that ever happened to us.”

Meanwhile, construction of a disc golf course at the town’s Cornelius Road Park is expected to finish this month, in plenty of time for the spring season, he said.