Grand Prix Drives $20 Million Boost For Austin Hotels

Hotels in Austin, Texas are on track to get a boost of around $20 million from today's United States Grand Prix as takings for the week are expected to hit $45 million which is 71.4% higher than the average according to new research.

Although the Formula One race takes place at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track 17 miles outside downtown Austin, research from data and analytics specialist STR shows that its impact is felt far and wide.

Founded in 1985, STR tracks key performance indicators at hotels around globe and its sample for Austin covers 326 properties with 37,991 rooms. It is the vast majority of the city's inventory which comes to a total of 39,000 rooms according to its tourist authority. STR models the remaining percentage to show Austin's overall performance which is in top gear during the Grand Prix.

Last year, the night before the race occupancy hit a staggering 96.5% across all of the hotels in the city. The effect was felt throughout the week driven by the arrival of thousands of support staff who turn the wheels behind the scenes. On the Monday of race week occupancy was already at 81.7% which is 10 percentage points higher than the average for the year. It revved up to 94.9% on Friday before peaking the following night.