Guest-room tourism boosts area economy

Don't think of those in-laws camped out in your guest room as a bother. They're helping the tourism economy in northern Nevada.

A new study conducted for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority finds that visitors who stay with family and friends are eating in restaurants, shopping at retailers and dropping quarters into slot machines .

In fact, 35 percent of the Reno and Sparks residents who were surveyed for the study estimate that their guests spend more than $300 during their visits. Another 36 percent estimate their guests' spending at $100 to $300.

And the survey of 1,155 residents conducted by InfoSearch International, a market research firm in Reno, found that guest rooms and fold-out couches in family rooms host a lot of visitors each year.

More than half the households surveyed said they'd hosted overnight guests within the past 12 months, and those households said they'd averaged between three and four sets of guests in the previous year.

The lion's share of those visitors came to town mostly to see friends and family no surprise but they didn't just hang around the house. Some 88 percent went out to eat, three-quarters did some shopping and about half gambled.

A four-night stay is typical, and the survey says the median age of adults who come to visit friends and family is 48. (The average age of all visitors including those who stay in hotels and other lodging is 56.)

Spending by guest-room visitors, however, is far less than by tourists who stay in hotels. A recent RSCVA study found traditional visitors are spending about $1,045 per capita on trips to Reno.

Still, Ellen Oppenheim, the president and chief executive officer of the RSCVA, says she's heartened by the findings about family-and-friends visitors.

For one thing, she says, the survey finds that Reno and Sparks residents are strong believers in the attractiveness of the area to visitors.

Nine out of 10 survey respondents give the region high marks as a place to host visitors, and more than 75 percent say the area has improved since they moved here.

"Our locals are some of our best ambassadors about the region," the RSCVA executive said.

Oppenheim said family-and-friend tourism also appears to be a significant force in driving tourism to Lake Tahoe. About 65 percent of the visitors who stay with family and friends in Reno head to the lake during their visit; only 17 percent of other visitors make the journey.

Taking a look the annual survey of all visitors not just those staying with family and friends conducted by InfoSearch, Oppenheim said notable findings included:

* An increasing number of visitors to the area list outdoor activities such as hiking among their interests. That, Oppenheim said, is evidence that the region's marketing message is getting through to consumers, even though almost none of the folks surveyed by InfoSearch recognize "America's Adventure Place" as the region's tagline. ("The Biggest Little City in the World" also draws strong recognition.)

* Improved air service from Southern California cities in recent months appears to be paying off with increased tourism from those markets. And increased traffic, she said, will support even better service.

* The rise in spending on lodging visitors spent an average of $150 per capita on hotels during their visits in 2007, compared with $136 a year earlier demonstrates both that hotel quality is on the rise and that visitors are willing to pay for quality. On the other hand, because overall spending is rising, the increase in hotel spending means that visitors are spending less on shopping and less on shows and entertainment.

* Despite a tough economy, total visitor numbers in 2007 were essentially flat in comparison with 2006. This year promises to be another challenge, she said, as national polls find that consumers don't plan to travel as far, or stay as long, on vacation trips.

* Fifty percent of the visitors who were surveyed rated their trip to the Reno area as "excellent," up from 45 percent a year earlier. Happy visitors are more likely to return, making the sales job of RSCVA and area attractions that much easier.