Welcoming over 3 million overnight visitors to the northwest suburbs, Meet Chicago Northwest (MCNW) experienced a 6.1 percent increase in gross sleeping room revenue in 2024, according to MCNW President Heather Larson.
“When guests stay in our hotels, they dine in our restaurants, they shop in our stores and they fill up their gas tanks—they spend money across the region supporting many businesses and providing jobs,” Larson said. “This helps to sustain the wide variety of amazing restaurants, retail establishments and attractions that our residents are also able to enjoy.”
MCNW ran several marketing and public relations campaigns throughout the year with the primary focus on its business-to-business campaign, “Chicago Northwest in the Middle of Everything,” designed to attract meetings and events, including amateur sports tournaments to the region. Ads ran nationwide and in parallel with the larger Illinois Office of Tourism messaging, “In the Middle of Everything.”
A secondary campaign, “Bleisure Travel in Chicago Northwest,“ included commentary on multiple Chicago news outlets and industry publications. President Larson explained, “A 2023 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found that 84 percent of travelers wanted to include some vacation time to their next corporate trip and 48 percent had taken a bleisure trip in the past year. That blending of business trips with leisure by extending the visit to the destination means additional economic impact for the hotel and the destination.”
Meet Chicago Northwest used social media to amplify and elevate the regional brand, showcasing a variety of content and blog stories on ChicagoNorthwest.com, increasing sessions 78 percent year over year. Its newly published Chicago Northwest Inspiration Guide was also launched as an upscale lifestyle magazine with 50,000 copies distributed to area hotels across the Midwest and directly to meeting and event planners.
Meet Chicago Northwest’s partnership with Expedia successfully targeted Midwestern travelers, generating over 25,000 booked room nights and more than $2.7 million in gross hotel room revenue. These results directly highlight the campaign’s success in driving tourism to the region.
To further amplify the drive market destination, Meet Chicago Northwest wrapped Uber and Lyft vehicles in Chicago, Milwaukee and Rockford, transforming them into mobile billboards for its passport program. According to Carvertise and Placer.AI data, the campaign generated over 181 million impressions across these cities, significantly increasing visibility of Chicago Northwest.
To learn more, visit chicagonorthwest.com.
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