Montgomery led the state with a 4.9 percent jump in overall hotel room occupancy that year.
That level of demand helped attract the attention of Ram Hotels, which is building a 109-room Hilton Garden Inn in Eastchase.
Strange said the rising occupancy rate has the city close to landing another “flagship” hotel, and they hope to make an announcement about that deal within the next few months.
“The Camellia Bowl was a huge add for the city,” said Calvin Cherry, DoubleTree director of sales. “You get to the middle of December, and the well runs dry in terms of corporate traffic.”
The inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and other downtown events in December had a big impact on bottom lines nearby. Downtown hotels had 18.5 percent more business than they did in December 2013.
“Traditionally, December is a down month for us,” CVB Vice President Dawn Hathcock said. “The downtown hotels did very well. Restaurants all over town had good business.”
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