Eagles Super Bowl parade gave Center City hotels a short-term boost to the tune of $4.3 million
Center City hotels sold more than 11,000 rooms and saw an increase in demand compared to the 2018 parade.
The Eagles’ Feb. 14 Super Bowl parade contributed to a big boost for Philly’s hospitality industry.
Center City hotels made $4.3 million dollars and sold more than 11,000 rooms between Thursday Feb. 13 and Saturday Feb. 15, according to a Tourism Economics report commissioned by the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Visit Philadelphia, and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association.
The numbers represent a 164% increase in revenue, not adjusting for inflation, according to the report, and a 71% rise in hotel-room demand compared to the same weekend last year, when there was no Super Bowl parade and Valentine’s Day fell on Wednesday.
Gregg Caren, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said playoff runs and victory celebrations are always welcome bonuses.
“None of us in the tourism industry can depend on an Eagles Super Bowl,” Caren said. But “there can be no downside to having postseason play that leads people to stay in our city.”
And there was even more upside for Center City hotels this year than there was for the Eagles’ 2018 parade, which was held on Thursday Feb. 8 that year.
Compared to the prior parade, hotels in the area saw a 24% increase in demand and an almost 42% jump in revenue, not accounting for inflation, according to the report. The report defined Center City hotels as those located downtown — between the Schuylkill and Delaware River from Pine to Vine Streets — and in University City.
The Super Bowl parade earlier this month was projected to bring a million or more people to the city.
On the cold February day, hundreds of thousands took subways and trains to the parade route, which stretched from the stadiums on South Broad Street to the Art Museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Even more walked, biked, and Ubered from their homes, Airbnbs, and hotels near the celebrations.
Comcast reported that traffic on Xfinity’s mobile WiFi network in Philadelphia was 51% higher than usual that day.
Some experts caution that one-off events like sports championships lead to only temporary boosts to local economies, not substantial long-term impacts.
When teams succeed, “it certainly doesn’t hurt … the economic community,” George Diemer, an associate professor in Temple University’s sport and recreation management department, told The Inquirer in 2022. But economists “get nervous because a lot of people tend to overestimate that economic impact.”
Caren, of the convention and visitors bureau, said Philadelphia’s tourists have shown themselves to be a loyal bunch, citing a Visit Philadelphia-commissioned survey that showed 77% of travelers to the city and its suburbs are repeat visitors.
Even before the parade, many booked hotel rooms for the Eagles’ three home playoff games. During those weekends, Center City hotels saw a 60% increase in occupancy compared to the same time last year, according to the report, and generated $2.7 million in revenue.
Caren declined to comment on his expectations for the Phillies’ forthcoming season.
“We can’t wish or will these things to happen,” he said. “For us, it is about the big anchor events that absolutely fill hotel rooms,” such as large prescheduled conventions, the celebrations around America’s 250th anniversary, the 2026 MLB All-Star game, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“The fact that we are a great sports town feeds upon itself,” Caren added, and “helps us close on more big events in our future.”