Choose Chicago released hotel metrics from a record-setting summer of travel to Chicago. During June, July, and August, hotels in Chicago’s Central Business District filled over 3.56 million room nights, a 4.3% gain over 2024 and surpassing the previous record set pre-COVID in the summer of 2019. Revenue generated from these bookings totaled $949 million, also an all-time record and 0.8% higher than last summer’s total. This spectacular summer of travel bucked national trends and underscores the resilience of the city’s tourism sector and its critical importance to the regional economy. 

Chicago’s spectacular summer defied national trends, coming as the entire global tourism industry continues to face economic and geopolitical challenges. While hotel room demand in Chicago was setting records, nationwide hotel room demand was down 0.5% compared to 2024 during the summer months. Through August of this year, Chicago’s total hotel room demand is up 3.7% compared to last year, while nationwide demand is down 0.1% year-to-date. 

The record-breaking summer of travel was driven by conventions, sporting events, festivals, concerts, and Chicago’s world-renowned cultural and culinary scene. The Chicago Department of Aviation has reported that the ten busiest days of all time in terms of passenger volume also occurred this summer. It was a particularly strong summer for leisure travelers, who occupied 2.5 million hotel rooms, up 11.2% compared to 2024. 

The four strongest individual weekends (Friday – Saturday) on record for local hotels all took place this summer: 

• Weekend of July 19 | 92,643 room nights driven by NIKE Tournament of Champions at McCormick Place, BLACKPINK at Soldier Field, other events 
• Weekend of August 30 | 91,559 room nights driven by Labor Day leisure travel, multiple major concerts 
• Weekend of June 21 | 91,384 room nights driven by Pride Fest, American Diabetes Association conference at McCormick Place, other events 
• Weekend of August 2 | 91,049 room nights driven by Lollapalooza, other events 

Tourism remains a vital driver of the Chicagoland economy. In 2024, the city welcomed an estimated 55.3 million visitors, generating $20.6 billion in economic impact. Meetings and events are a cornerstone of that impact: in 2024 alone, they generated over $3 billion in economic activity and introduced hundreds of thousands of new visitors to the city’s cultural, culinary, and hospitality offerings.

Choose Chicago and its partners remain focused on sustaining this momentum through the fall and winter seasons and ensuring that Chicago continues to thrive as a premier global destination for leisure travel, conventions, and major events of all varieties. This announcement comes just weeks after Choose Chicago launched the “All for the Love of Chicago” campaign, encouraging residents and visitors to share their authentic experiences and stories to illustrate what the city means to them.