PARKERSBURG, WV (January 20, 2009) – The Greater Parkersburg Convention & Visitors Bureau recently reported that room nights sold by Wood County lodging properties were up overall in December and that hotel occupancy increased in 2008 in comparison to 2007.

“December proved to be a good month for at least half of Wood County’s lodging properties,” Greater Parkersburg CVB President Steve Nicely said. “The total room nights sold was up approximately 1,000 rooms for December 2008 versus the previous December.”

“Another important note is that overall room occupancy was up 1.3% in 2008 from 2007, despite the fact that we were minus the Holiday Inn, which was the area’s largest hotel and closed in August 2007,” Nicely said.

“It appears that niche scale properties are less affected by the economic woes than the larger scale properties in larger markets/cities,” said Alan Hardway, Vice President Hotel Operations for MPH Hotels, Inc that manages the Holiday Inn Express & Suites and Wingate by Wyndham properties in the region. “In that respect, the Greater Parkersburg area has faired very well. As we begin 2009 we believe revenue will hold the same from 2008. The general feeling for the industry as a whole is that there will be greater demand for aggressive marketing and special packaging in order to generate and sustain the same revenues in 2009 that we saw in 2008.”

Nicely indicated the CVB is working with area lodging properties to create a number of special packages and deals for visitors and groups in 2009.

To learn more about the area and upcoming events, visit www.GreaterParkersburg.com

The Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau was organized in 1985 and is an independent, nonprofit corporation dedicated to strengthening the area's economy by marketing Greater Parkersburg as a destination for leisure travel, group tours, meetings and conventions. The Bureau is devoted to providing appropriate services for visitors and its partners.

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