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October 23, 2010

Haunted Happenings gives a lift to hotels across North Shore

By Ethan Forman Staff writer The Salem News Sun Oct 24, 2010, 08:43 AM EDT

Thanks to tourists flocking to Haunted Happenings in downtown Salem, hotels in Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and even as far away as Rockport are filling up, as well.

While it is only anecdotal, local tourism experts say Halloween guests are booking more rooms this October than last.

North Shore hotels and inns not only benefit from the usual influx of tourists to New England during leaf-peeping season, they also provide a way for tourists to visit Salem at a time of year when Witch City rooms are hard to come by.

October weekends at Salem hotels and inns usually sell out nine to 12 months in advance, said Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem, the organization behind the Haunted Happenings festival.

That allows inns in Rockport, about 20 miles north of downtown Salem, to market to potential Haunted Happenings revelers, who can use the commuter rail to get to and from Salem.

"Usually, Salem is so overwhelmingly busy, people are staying outside of Salem," said James Silva, sales manager for the Emerson Inn by the Sea in Rockport.

The 36-room inn offers a $600, two-night Halloween package with the Hawthorne Hotel. The package allows inn guests to ride a shuttle to attend the Halloween Ball at the Salem hotel.

"They have been doing well partnering with the Salem market," Fox said of Rockport's inns.

Strong bookings in October are coming on the heels of an uptick earlier this year.

"We are doing well this year," said Julie McConchie, executive director of the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hotels saw a 13.2 percent increase in occupancy through August, compared with the first eight months of 2009.

While that figure does not capture autumn, McConchie said she expects October occupancy rates to be up over last year. Not only are the region's hotels seeing a lift from the monthlong Haunted Happenings celebration, they were also busy during the Topsfield Fair earlier this month.

"October is our highest occupancy month," McConchie said.

The Boston Peabody Marriott's occupancy rate, for example, is running 9 percent ahead of last year.

"The weekends are sold out," McConchie said.

Rooms tend to be available midweek, and the bookings tend to be last-minute.

"Haunted Happenings is obviously the big draw," McConchie said.

Cathleen Wardley, the general manager of the Boston Peabody Marriott on Centennial Drive, about three miles from downtown Salem, said she does not have the October figures yet, but business appears to be up over last year.

"It's a lot of layering," Wardley said. "Certainly, Haunted Happenings is an economic driver for this area."

Group business, business travel and business meetings are also strong this year, Wardley said. Those looking for a place to stay near Salem tend to gravitate toward a familiar hotel name like Marriott.

"Many of the travelers will look for that recognizable-quality name," Wardley said. Rates on the hotel's website range from $199 to $219 over Halloween weekend.

Comfort Inn North Shore Danvers on Dayton Street is about seven miles from downtown Salem, and it is also filling up with guests attending Haunted Happenings.

Rates vary around $154 a night over Halloween weekend, although there are lower rates for Choice Privileges members.

"October is definitely one of the busiest months," said Jill Granger, the director of sales at Comfort Inn, who said Haunted Happenings is the reason for much of the business.

"They can't all stay in Salem," said Granger, who could not say for sure if this October would outpace last, but she said, "It's looking strong."

One of the hotels at the center of it all is the Hawthorne Hotel, which lets guests decorate their rooms, and holds its annual Halloween Ball on Oct. 30 this year.

"We see about 1,000 people come through" just for the ball, said Kristie Poehler, the hotel's retail director of sales and marketing. Tickets to its Bedlam Behind Bars Halloween Ball fetch $90 per person.

The hotel is booked solid for the Halloween weekend this year, and the hotel's popular Halloween package — which will cost $1,100 to $1,600 for a four-night stay next year — usually sells out immediately after it becomes available on the hotel's website in the first week of November.

"We already have weekends next October that are starting to fill up," Poehler said. "We would definitely feel it if Haunted Happenings wasn't happening."

Even small, privately owned motels like the 21-room Beverly Garden Suites on Lakeview Avenue in Beverly sells out Halloween weekend. Guests dress up and head into Salem on the train from the nearby North Beverly station. Rates range from $79 to $129 a night.

Manager Nancy Victorine said the entire month of October is a busy one, and she said business is up this year compared with last.

Not every hotel manager reports seeing a lift from Haunted Happenings. The Holiday Inn and Suites on Route 1 in Peabody cannot compare its present October numbers to last October because the hotel was under renovation and partially closed last year. So far this year, the hotel has yet to catch up to its 2007 numbers, said Pierre Merhej, the general manager.

The hotel has been promoting Haunted Happenings to its guests.

"We try to make sure people are aware of it when they come to the hotel," Merhej said. Guests seem to like the idea of the festival, but "it's not that we are booking because of Haunted Happenings."

While that may be, Fox said she tried to book an upcoming October weekend at the Holiday Inn on behalf of a third party coming to Salem and found the hotel to be sold out.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

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