New York’s Niagara Falls to battle Canadian side with upscale hotels
Photo Credit: A stay at the Super 8 hotel in Niagara Falls, New York, isn't necessarily too romantic, given these warnings in 2012 about stealing the towels. The U.S. side of the Falls is hoping for an upgrade with an influx of higher-end hotels. flickr.com / Esther Westerveld
Skift Take
The Canadians have won this battle hands-down with nicer hotels and meetings and conventions facilities. Niagara Falls, New York, will have to swim upstream with resolve to catch up with the other side.
Finding an upscale hotel experience on the American side of Niagara Falls has been a challenge for many years, but it will soon be getting a little easier.
With seven hotel projects either planned or already under way, downtown will see about 950 new or renovated rooms, all of those providing higher-end accommodations, in the coming years.
And upscale is exactly what downtown needs, according to local and state officials.
For the last decade, the hotel market in Niagara Falls has been trending upward, with occupancy rates and room rates on the rise. But, the market share for upper-end accommodations still falls far below that of the Canadian side, said Chris Schoepflin, president of the state-run USA Niagara Development Corp.
"We're trending in the right direction, even as we're working to get more rooms online," Schoepflin said.
A study performed in 2011 by HVS Consulting and Valuation Services, a consulting firm specializing in the hospitality industry, found that Niag
