“Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone,” continues to evoke praise and criticism nearly four years later. Nebraska's tourism chief says the state doesn't plan to shed the slogan any time soon.
Omaha hotels posted record revenue in 2022, a sign they're bouncing back from the disastrous days of the pandemic.
Leisure travel has returned stronger than business and convention travel, a city official said.
Weighing against those higher revenues are rising costs for labor and supplies, as well as continuing inflation concerns that may be stifling travel plans for some people.
Omaha hotel revenue hit $251 million in 2022, up 25% from 2021. Before the pandemic in 2019 — a fairly average year for Omaha hotels — revenue was $219 million.
Mayor Jean Stothert noted the hotel revenue surge among the bright spots in her recent State of the City address, calling it an "all-time high."
The pandemic crushed hotel business, forcing some hotels to furlough or lay off staff.
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Omaha hotel revenues fell by one-half in 2020, when the pandemic first hit and caused havoc with the hotel and travel industry.
Some Omaha hotels got aid through a federally funded program. The city’s Hotel Stimulus Program, funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, provided a total of $4.48 million to 46 area hotels.
Last year's turnaround surprised city officials.
"I don't think any of us projected that 2022 was going to be that big of a revenue year," said Deborah Ward, executive director of the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The revenue jump doesn't just reflect higher room rates, she said. Nor does it reflect additional hotel rooms in the city, since the number of rooms added in 2022 was negligible, she said.
"The average daily rate was up 15% and demand was up 9%, so those increases weren't just due to an increase in price," Ward said. "It was also due to an increase in demand. More people came in 2022."
Across the country, hotel rates have been rising.
According to STR, an organization that analyzes the global hospitality industry, the average room rate in the U.S. was $158.61 for the week ending March 25.
That was up 4.7% over the comparable week last year, and up 12% over 2019.
Lodging tax collections up in Nebraska since the pandemic, a sign the hotel industry is rebounding.
So what's the takeaway from the Omaha data?
The hotels are doing better, Ward said, but like other businesses they still have to contend with higher operating costs.
Local hotels have seen more leisure travelers, the kind who visit Omaha for a weekend with family or friends, she said. But they're still working on luring back business travelers who come here for meetings.
"COVID kind of changed that landscape because we learned you can have a meeting with everybody via Zoom," she said.
There's still more to do to bring back convention business, she said.
In the meantime, there are signs that hotels across the state are also crawling back out of the COVID hole.
Lodging tax collections plunged during the COVID-19 years for the state, Douglas County and Lancaster County.
But last year, collections in all three of those jurisdictions hit their highest levels since 2019, according to the Nebraska Tourism Commission.
Back in 2019, the total collected from the state's lodging tax was about $5.9 million. State collections bottomed out in 2020 at $3.4 million.
Last year, the state collected more than twice that — $7.4 million.
Photos: Omaha World-Herald best photos of 2022
Kiki caresses her calf, Eugenia, at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium on Monday.
Sophie Wilson and her daughter Coco, 1, walk past “David with the Head of Goliath" at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday, March 02, 2022.
Storms approach Blair, Nebraska, looking north on County Road 25, just north of State Highway 91 on Tuesday.
Storms approach Blair, Nebraska, looking west on State Highway 91 as the sun starts to set on Tuesday.
A pedestrian walks northbound on 20th Street underneath I480 on Monday, April 18, 2022.
Larnisha Dortch fills out her ballot at Fontenelle Forest during Nebraska's primary election on Tuesday.
Head Groundskeeper Zach Ricketts, left, works on the field while Carol Szczepaniak votes in Nebraska's primary election on Tuesday at Werner Park.
Jim Kristl takes a photo of a giant American flag hot air balloon as it starts to inflate shortly after sunrise at Zorinsky Lake Park on Friday.
A man sprays down the roof of a neighboring building while also filming the scene of a three-alarm fire at Nox-Crete, Inc., 1415 S. 20th St on Monday.
A sea lion swims under tree debris that washed into the Owen Sea Lion Shores exhibit at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium on Tuesday. A hail storm the night before shredded leaves of many plants in parts of Omaha, Nebraska, leaving piles of plant debris. "I am sure some of the animals were startled by the storm, like the rest of us, but they don’t mind the debris and 'messiness" as much as us humans. To a lot of the animals, the leaves and twigs, like in the photo with the sea lions, are considered enrichment and new things to explore, " said Dennis Schnurbusch, Senior Vice President and COO of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Rick Trapani clears out a storm drain after a car got stuck in floodwaters near 40th and Valley Streets in Omaha on Tuesday. Rain and hail from a storm pelted the area.
A deer looks back at a fallen tree on Terry Avenue near Sherry Drive in Bellevue, Nebraska on Wednesday. A storm came through overnight bringing high winds.
A car heads south on the Highway 81 bridge over a mostly dry Platte River south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday.
Nick Soulliere, right, poses for a portrait with his daughter Kennedy, 11, Highway 81 bridge south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday. They were four-wheeling in a mostly dry Platte River bed.
Volunteers roll Sarma in the Saints Peter and Paul's gym on Thursday.
A 40-foot blue spruce is lowered into the area in front of the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Monday. The tree will be the Durham Museum's 2022 Christmas tree.
Tony Cirian flocks a wreath with the color green on Friday.
Crews deice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff on Wednesday.
Looking east towards Iowa from the Nebraska side, emergency crews closed I80 in both directions after winter weather caused several accidents on Wednesday.
A mask ls partily covered by petals that blew off a nearby blooming tree in a parking lot in Omaha on Monday.
A center pivot irrigation waters a corn field near Valley, Nebraska on Thursday. The corn beyond the reach of the water shows signs of the drought that is gripping Nebraska.
The "entertainment table" lingers after lunch on a Tuesday afternoon at Prairie Pines 55+ Retirement Village in Arapahoe, Nebraska.
Heidi Thomas kisses Alan Thomas as Mark McCurdy, the town pharmacist, gives Alan a COVID-19 vaccine on a Tuesday evening at their home in Arapahoe, Nebraska.
Alan Thomas looks out the window on the drive to Arapahoe-Holbrook High School on a Saturday afternoon in Arapahoe, Nebraska.
Heidi Thomas brings Alan Thomas home after a busy day in Arapahoe, Nebraska.
Sandhill cranes fly over the Platte River in central Nebraska on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Lightning illuminates the sky in downtown Omaha on Tuesday.
Nurse practitioner Renee Stewart (from top left), nurse Kristen Bayly, and physical therapist Nancy Lenz train with Kim Kozelichki for their upcoming Lincoln Half Marathon.
Bahes Noor (left) and his brother, Yasir Noor, play in their backyard in Omaha on Wednesday during Ramadan. This is the family's first Ramadan since immigrating to the U.S. from Afghanistan.
Shabana Noor (from left) and her parents, Nooryali Noor and Latifa Noor, pray at their home in Omaha after breaking their fast on Wednesday during Ramadan. This is the family's first Ramadan since immigrating to the U.S. from Afghanistan.
Jordan “Ninja” Smith (left) dances with Merinda Collins during Jazz on the Green at Turner Park in Omaha on Thursday evening.
Volunteer Kyle Hall (left) holds punching pads for LeAnne Denney (right) as Daryl Kucera cheers her on at MS Forward gym in Omaha on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.
Emmanuel Sekamana walks through his garden near North 40th and Parker Streets on Monday, July 25, 2022.
Emmanuel Sekamana uses a machete to harvest corn in his garden near North 40th and Parker Streets on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
John Grant (left) plays on John Sherman Jr.’s skateboard near a basketball court in Walthill on the Omaha Nation Reservation.
Kane Sheridan, of the White Eagle Club Dancers, dances during the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration at Josyln Castle & Gardens in Omaha on Monday.
Breyan Lovejoy (left) and Kaleb Sheridan sing and drum with other members of the White Eagle Club during the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration at Josyln Castle & Gardens in Omaha on Monday.
Christopher Rice skates in the new skate park in Walthill on the Omaha Nation Reservation.
John Sherman Jr. watches other skaters in the new skate park in Walthill on the Omaha Nation Reservation.
Brandon Ornat waits in his apartment before being moved to a hotel, with the assistance of Together, from the Flora Apartments, at 2557 Jones Street. The building has been condemned by the city and residents are being forced out after inspectors found the building to be unlivable. Photographed in Omaha on Monday.
Volunteers serve a meal for people experiencing homelessness as a van from the Open Door Mission drops off people outside the W. Dale Clark Library in downtown Omaha on Wednesday. The group serves a meal every Wednesday outside the library. The downtown library branch will be relocated and the current location is slated for a Mutual of Omaha headquarters skyscraper.
Kamirah Cox, 8, and Ty'Nell Qualls, 11, play as the sunshines outside Qualls' home on North 47th Avenue in Omaha on Monday.
Brett Lindstrom, Republican candidate for Nebraska governor, walks off the stage, with results projected on him, after conceding the race during an election results watch party in Omaha on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. The race was called for Jim Pillen.
Ben Crawford, a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act assistant with the Winnebago Tribal Historic Preservation Office, watches as detection dogs search for a potential burial site for children who died while at the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photographed near the site of the school, bordering the Loup River Power Canal in Genoa, Neb., on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Bicyclists ride during a protest of the closing of the Harney Street protected bike lane at Dewey Park in Omaha on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
Josie Mottl, 25, of Omaha, looks though her fiancé's things that need to be moved from the Legacy Crossing apartment complex at 10535 Ellison Plaza. It has been closed by the city and residents are being forced out after inspectors found the 17 buildings and more than 400 units to be unlivable. Photographed in Omaha on Monday.
Texas' Dylan Campbell slides into second base on a steal attempt knocking the glove off of Texas A&M's Ryan Targac in second inning of an elimination game at the College World Series on Sunday.
Ole Miss fans react as the Rebels win the 2022 College World Series on Sunday.
John Sherman Jr. flies through the air while performing a trick at a new skate park in Walthill on the Omaha Nation reservation during a grand opening celebration.
Jester Gascon, 24, break dances in Ta Ha Zouka Park. With temperatures climbing, anyone outdoors will be breaking a sweat for the next few days.
Caerhl Irey in a muumuu and pearls on the front porch of her home in North Omaha. She grew up in that part of town and was happy to return.
Dennis Pate, left, the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium’s outgoing president and CEO, speaks Friday with Dr. Luis Padilla, the incoming president and CEO, inside the zoo’s Desert Dome. “We are a part of and an anchor in this community, and the community loves us,” Padilla said, referring to the zoo during a press conference.
Sheryl Crow performs during the City of Omaha Celebrates America concert at Memorial Park in Omaha on Friday.
Missy Hudson-Benash keeps tabs on canvassing in the MiniVAN app while canvassing for Nebraska Legislature District 20 candidate John Fredrickson in Omaha on Saturday.
